Shattered
by A Girl Named Blessed
Summary: Sakura finally gets accepted to the most elite private school in Konoha. Higher education? Check. Gorgeous boys - okay, maybe just one... - double check. But a secret society of magic users? Things officially just got complicated.
1. Sasuke Uchiha

**Author's Note**: When I first decided that I wanted to write a Naruto fanfiction, I was still fairly new to the series. It was near the end of 2010, almost a year ago from the time of rewriting this chapter, and I had only just started the second season of Naruto. Everything beyond that point in the series, I only knew because I'd read spoilers on the internet.

So, needless to say my grasp of certain characters was shallow at best, and since at that point I hadn't wrote much of anything in several months, my writing was really rusty. That's why I've decided to rewrite the first few chapters. In terms of the storyline, no drastic changes are going to be made, so no one who read the first version HAS to read this second draft, but they can if they like. And to anyone just checking out my story now, hopefully this version is better than the one I had before and you enjoy the story.

**Disclaimer**: This will be my one and only disclaimer, and will apply to all future chapters of this fanfiction. Yes, _fan_fiction – I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Frankly, if I did, Sasuke's future would look much brighter by now since he's my favourite character.

**Pairing Warning**: If you're expecting Sasuke and Sakura to get together by chapter five (…or twenty) you're going to be disappointed. I prefer writing the journey to writing the actual relationship, because personally that's what I prefer to read. That said, there will still be lots of cute fluffy moments along the way once things get rolling. So if you really want to read this story, just trust that I know what I'm doing. If there's a time when Sakura seems closer to a male character _other _than Sasuke, it does not mean that suddenly in the middle of the story I'm going to change the pairing. This story is, and always will be, a SasuSaku fanfiction. I'm only saying this in advance so that if, down the road, people are getting a little outraged at this or that, I can point them to this warning. I know we can sometimes get a little passionate about the things we love. ;)

**Inner Sakura** in this story isn't a separate mentality or whatever it's supposed to be in the anime/manga (just from the chunin exam match against Ino) – it's generally just Sakura's imagination of herself when she's frustrated or angry. It's also the evil voice in the back of her head that likes to pipe up and state things she's trying to pretend not to notice, or contradicting what she thinks she believes. You probably won't see it often, and she certainly won't be conversing with it, but I'll throw it in whenever it feels right.

_Sakura's Thoughts  
**Inner Sakura**_

* * *

**SHATTERED  
**_A Girl Named Blessed_

CHAPTER ONE: Sasuke Uchiha

The day Sakura Haruno's letter from Konoha Academy arrived in the mail was one of the best days of her life. For as long as she could remember it had been a dream of hers to attend the academy, where only the very smart, the very talented, or very rich students were accepted. It was the pride of their town, where the brilliant minds and important people of the future were born – and even as a young child, Sakura had always been ambitious.

Yet as she'd read the words 'accepted' and 'outstanding test scores,' in her letter, the joy she felt was bittersweet. Becoming a student would mean moving in to the academy dorms – and leaving behind her home on the outskirts of Konoha. It wasn't as though she wouldn't get to take her dog Ulysses for a walk, bake chocolate chip cookies with her mom (a tradition that she would never be too old for) or play board games with her dad again – but it just wouldn't be the same.

Her parents had mixed reactions about Sakura changing schools. Her father had planted a kiss on top of her head and told her how proud he was, while her mother stood quietly at the sink holding a dirty dish in her hand. At the time, Sakura hadn't given it much thought, but as the reality began to sink in that she would be going to _one of the top schools in the country_ and the excitement slowly began to die down, she found herself wondering why her mother hadn't once acknowledged the letter.

* * *

Several weeks passed until finally it was the night before Sakura had to leave for the academy. As she walked around her bedroom looking for any odds and ends that she may have forgotten to pack, she heard a knock at her door.

"Come in," Sakura called out, opening her desk drawers. Rifling through the notes and old school assignments, she turned to see her mother standing in the doorway.

"Do you think you're ready for tomorrow?" Sakura's mother asked quietly.

Sakura dropped the essay she had been holding, mouth open. After a few moments she cleared her throat and nodded. "Yeah, I think so."

The two awkwardly stood in silence, neither sure of what to say. The topic of Sakura's leaving hadn't come up between the two of them until now. Whenever Sakura or her father had brought it up, her mother had excused herself from the room.

"Good," Sakura's mother said finally, straightening her posture. "You should get some sleep, you've got a big day tomorrow."

As her mother moved to leave, Sakura found her voice. "Why aren't you happier for me? You were the one that encouraged me to work hard so that I could someday get into this school. Now that I have, you've been ignoring it completely."

Sakura's mother turned around, a pained look in her eyes. "I _am _happy for you, sweetheart, more than you know. I love you, with all of my heart. No matter what, don't ever forget that." This time when the older woman walked away, Sakura didn't try to stop her.

It wasn't until several minutes had passed that Sakura got over her confusion at her mother's strange behaviour. Sitting cross-legged on her bed, Sakura grabbed the photo of her family from her bedside table and stared at their happy faces.

"I love you too, mom."

* * *

The rolling hills of the country side slowly became less and less as the bus neared the city. Staring out the glass, Sakura took little notice of her surroundings, lost in her own thoughts. In just a short while, they would reach the front gates to Konoha Academy, and a new chapter in the life of Sakura Haruno would begin.

Sighing, Sakura sank down into her seat. She was the only passenger on the bus, and the only noise that could be heard was the obnoxious blaring of the radio. Tuning it out, she found herself wondering what it would really be like at the academy. Would she make friends? She hadn't left many behind, and those friends were really just polite classmates and lab partners that thought she was nice.

The sun was setting when the bus finally slowed to a stop in front of Konoha Academy. Sakura grabbed her bags, grateful that her large suitcase had wheels. The other bag she held on to with her left arm as she made her way up the aisle and off of the bus.

Walking through the open gate, Sakura felt the once slumbering butterflies in her stomach take flight. The pale stone walkway stretched on for what felt like forever, lined by the trees that were her namesake. Apart from Sakura, the front of the academy was deserted. Dragging her suitcase behind her, she made her way up to the entrance and pushed the door open. Her skin was met with the cool air of the school's AC, a refreshing change from the humidity she'd just stepped out of.

The woman sitting at the information desk looked up, grimacing as Sakura's suitcase rolled loudly across the tile floor. "Can I help you?"

"I hope so," Sakura replied, smiling. "I'm Sakura Haruno and I'm new to the academy. I think I'm supposed to get my dorm key and class schedule from you."

"Do you have your letter?"

Sakura reached into the side pocket of her bag and handed the letter over. The older woman glanced over it briefly before typing something into the computer.

"Do you have a map of the school I could use?" Sakura asked.

The secretary pointed at a large map posted on the wall to the right. Sakura murmured a 'thank you' before walking over to the map. Her eyes widened as the realization of _just how big _the academy was finally hit her. The building was designed in a typical square shape with the center housing an outdoor courtyard. The front of the school consisted of faculty offices and student resources like the pool and gymnasium, while the back of the building was mostly classrooms. And that was only the _first _floor.

Sighing, Sakura tried to memorize the route to the dorms. The girls dorm building was located to the back right of the school grounds. She could get to it by cutting through the courtyard and following the main path on the other side. If she didn't take any detours it should be easy enough.

Sakura jumped as she felt a hand settle on her shoulder.

"Miss Haruno? I've got your key and schedule."

"Oh, thanks." Sakura tucked the key into her pants pocket and slipped her schedule into her bag.

Silently reciting the directions to the girl's dormitory, Sakura grabbed her things and made her way out the double doors by the information desk and through the courtyard. Blissfully, she found herself thinking of the warm, cozy bed waiting in her dorm. The long bus ride had exhausted her, and the hair sticking to the back of her neck made her feel gross.

_At least there doesn't seem to be anyone around to notice me, _Sakura thought absentmindedly. _I probably look like a hag. _

The thought had no sooner left Sakura's mind when she suddenly felt herself smack into someone. She was just about to curse whoever it was for coming out of nowhere when she noticed who it was she'd bumped into.

A tall, well-built guy with black hair spiked at the back stared down at her through thick lashes, his onyx eyes narrowed slightly as his bangs fell across his face. If he hadn't been standing directly in front of her, Sakura would have had a hard time seeing him at all in the dimly lit courtyard with his dark hair and dark clothes.

Realizing that she was staring, Sakura swallowed nervously before putting on what she hoped was an apologetic smile. "I'm so sorry! You must think I'm a total klutz. I wasn't really paying attention to where I – hey!" Sakura frowned. The guy had walked brushed past her like she wasn't even there, and when she turned around to give him a piece of her mind, she saw that the courtyard was empty again.

_He couldn't have gotten inside already. He was only out of my sight for a couple of seconds. What did he do, run to try and escape me? _

"What a jerk," Sakura muttered, drawing her eyebrows together. She took a few steps forward before looking around the courtyard again, biting her lip. _**Then again, with a face like that, he can be as rude as he wants. **_Warmth flooded her cheeks at the unwelcome thought. The sooner she forgot about him, the better.

Yet even as she told herself that was what she should do, Sakura couldn't help replaying the encounter with him in her head.

* * *

Sakura double checked the brass number on the door ahead of her before raising her hand to knock. There was shuffling from the other side until finally the clicking sound of the lock was heard and the door swung open, revealing the confused and tired face of a blonde-haired girl.

"Uh, yeah? What do you want?" The girl asked, leaning against the door frame.

Clearing her throat, Sakura held up her dorm key between her fingers. "I think I'm your new roommate. I would have just let myself in, but I didn't want to freak you out."

The blonde yawned, stretching her arms above her head as she stepped aside. "They said I might have to share a room with someone this year. Guess that means you're fresh meat, huh? I'm Ino, by the way."

Sakura grabbed her things off the floor and brought them into the room, closing the door behind her. "I'm Sakura, and I guess I am. I mean, I've never attended this school before. Have you been a student here for very long?"

"I guess that's your half of the room there," Ino commented, waving at the other side as she sat down on one of the beds. "I've been a student here for three years – this'll be my fourth. You must be here on scholarship, right?"

Sakura froze for a moment before regaining her composure and continuing to unpack. "Uh, yeah. Is it that obvious?"

Ino shrugged, picking up a magazine that was lying open beside her on the mattress. "We don't really get a lot of new students here. Most of us have been enrolled since the sixth grade, so the only time we seem to get a new face is when the school board decides to give out scholarships."

"O-oh, I see." Sakura fumbled with the zipper on her suitcase. The school didn't give out many scholarships, a fact she had constantly been reminded of over the years. Why hadn't she realized she would stand out? At her old school it had been her pink hair and at the academy, it'd be the pink hair _and _the charity case nerd.

Ino laughed suddenly, a small tilted grin on her face. "Don't worry, Sakura. Nobody's going to care how you got here. We all deserve to be, for one reason or another, and that's all that matters. The students here aren't as uptight as people like to make us out to be."

Sakura smiled. "You guys do have a bit of a reputation."

"Oh trust me, I know. So what do you think of the place so far?"

The image of the dark haired guy from before entered her mind unbidden. Ignoring the warmth spreading through her cheeks, Sakura opened the dresser on her side and began putting away her clothes. "It's beautiful here, but I feel like it's going to take me months to get used to where everything is. Our room alone was a nightmare to find, for a while I actually started wondering if the secretary had given me the wrong key. I mean, why would our room be on the top floor in between 402 and 406?"

"She can be kind of a witch, so I wouldn't have put it past her," Ino said casually, flipping through her magazine. "I'm not really sure why our room was numbered so weird. At first I thought someone just switched the first numbers around, but there's no room between 202 and 206 on the second floor. Kind of creepy, don't you think?"

"Totally," Sakura agreed. With the last of her clothes put away, Sakura put the photo of her parents on the dresser beside her bed for the finishing touch.

"So am I the first person you've met? Other than the secretary, I mean."

Sakura, who had just sat on her bed, began fidgeting with the blanket. "Officially, or… unofficially?"

"Both," Ino drawled, raising an eyebrow.

Sakura took a deep breath. "I… kind of walked into someone earlier. In the courtyard." _**A very **_**gorgeous**_** someone! **_Inner Sakura swooned.

"A _male _someone, by chance?" Ino asked slyly, a teasing grin already forming. When Sakura nodded, the grin on the other girl's face grew larger. "Tell me about him!" Ino demanded.

"There's really not a lot to say, he didn't… he didn't really say anything. Or acknowledge me at all. He just sort of stood there, staring at me. When I finally remembered how to talk, I tried to apologize but he just left, and he was completely out of sight before I even realized it. I _should _be annoyed," Sakura added, frowning. "And I am. But... he was kind of dreamy." Sighing, Sakura fell back on her bed and looked up at the ceiling. Dreamy sounded so lame, but she didn't know how else to describe him. He _was _like something out of a dream – other than the being rude bit.

When Ino didn't say anything, Sakura sat back up and looked over at her roommate. "Something wrong?" Sakura asked.

"What did he look like? Your dreamy guy, I mean."

"Dark," Sakura said slowly, watching Ino's expression carefully. "His eyes, his hair, even his clothes. He was just so… intense."

"Hair spiked up at the back? Eyes black as night?" Ino questioned, straightening her posture.

Sakura nodded and watched as Ino looked away. "Is… something wrong?"

Ino didn't say anything at first, choosing instead to put her magazine away in a drawer. After a few minutes had passed, she finally looked at Sakura again. "That's Sasuke Uchiha. He's pretty popular around here. I can probably count on one hand how many girls _don't _like him."

"Oh." _I've got a bad feeling… _"So, do you…?"

"Yeah," Ino said quietly. "I do."

The two girls fell silent then; neither of them knew what to say. Sakura wanted to assure Ino that she thought Sasuke was a total jerk who wasn't worth her time, but something made her hold back. She couldn't deny that there was something appealing about him, and it wasn't just his appearance (although it certainly helped).

When Ino reached over to turn off the lamp beside her bed, Sakura knew she had lost her chance to reassure the blonde. Sighing, she turned off her own lamp and curled up in her bed. _It's going to be an interesting year, alright. _

* * *

**Author's Note**: There you have it, the new and _much _improved first chapter! For anyone just discovering this now, if you notice a shift in the next few chapters in my writing, bear with me; I'm hoping to get at least the rough ones fixed up before posting the new chapter, so hopefully it'll be a smooth transition from chapter to chapter, but I also don't want to delay chapter eleven (the chapter I'm working on next) for too long. Just look at the end of the first author's note - if there's no "**This chapter has been revised**" note, it hasn't been revised.

One of the things I tried to do with the revision of this chapter was make Sakura a little less annoying. When I first started this story, she was _meant _to be annoying since it was supposed to kind of parallel the beginning of the anime when she first gets teamed up with Sasuke and she doesn't really know the first thing about him. And she's kind of shallow, because she's still young and naïve. Right now, despite her character being older, she's pretty much in the same boat. She hasn't had much experience with friends or guys since she's been so focused on her studies. So, to a certain degree, she'll still be a little annoying, but I toned it down this chapter since it felt a bit extreme and unnecessary in the original version. But when you do see it a little more in future chapters, know that it's intentional and she's going to grow out of it. It's just part of her character's development in this story!


	2. Sakura's First Day

**Author's Note**: The reception for the last chapter so far was pretty good, so I'm glad that you guys are enjoying the story up to this point. I originally intended to have this chapter posted no later than Monday, but I forgot to take into account that this chapter would be longer, and that I had some last minute Christmas shopping to do. (There also may or may not have been a DVD of Dexter, Season 2, that kept me distracted over the weekend… -cough-)

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, anyone who reviewed while logged in to the site should have received a reply, and should I receive any anonymous reviews in the future, they'll always be responded to at the end of the new chapter.

**This chapter has been revised.**

* * *

**SHATTERED  
**_A Girl Named Blessed_

CHAPTER TWO: Sakura's First Day

Sakura groaned, turning over to her side and curling up in a ball. The sound of an alarm clock beeping woke her from the final remnants of the dream she'd been having, dragging her into the conscious world kicking and screaming. Sighing, she turned over on to her back and opened her eyes. Even if she fell asleep again, her dream was gone. Already she had forgotten what it was even about, though she had an idea as a pair of dark eyes floated through her mind.

"Hey, Sakura. If you don't want to be late on your first day of school, you better hurry up and get showered. Breakfast has already started."

Sakura yawned and sat up, looking over at her roommate through droopy eyes. The blonde girl was already fully dressed in the school uniform, her hair tied back in a ponytail. _How did she get ready so fast? _Not only did Ino look ready for the first day of school, but she looked wide awake. _I hate morning people._

Suddenly everything went dark as she felt something soft get hurled at her face. Pulling it away, Sakura looked and realized it was a girl's uniform. She looked up at Ino, who was already making her way to the door.

"Uh, Ino, what's–?"

Ino looked over her shoulder, hand gripping the door frame. "You got in late last night and I didn't see you unpack a school uniform. I wake up early every morning to go jogging, so I just asked the secretary for one – I guessed what size you were, but you look about the same as one of my friends so I think it'll fit."

Sakura looked down at the uniform in her hands; she had forgotten all about needing one. At her old school, the students had been allowed to wear whatever they wanted as long as it was appropriate.

"Breakfast is in the dining hall," Ino continued. "If you enter the academy from this side of the school grounds, it's down the hall directly to the right. The door's always open so you can't miss it, but they get rid of the food after eight-thirty so if you want to eat, you better hurry up and get ready. Come find me when you're done and I'll help you find your first class, 'kay?" Ino smiled brightly before walking away, closing the door behind her.

Sakura held up the uniform, inspecting it briefly before going into the bathroom to shower. At least it seemed like Ino wasn't feeling any animosity toward her after their discussion the night before, a fact that made Sakura feel relieved. Making an enemy over something so silly before school even started would have been some kind of record.

After she showered, Sakura quickly pulled on the uniform Ino had thrown at her. Pleased to find that it fit perfectly, Sakura glanced at the clock that had woken her up that morning. It was already fifteen minutes after eight; if she wanted to have breakfast, she better hurry up. Ignoring the growling of her stomach and sparing a quick look at her reflection in the mirror, Sakura decided she was presentable enough for her first day. Grabbing her books and tucking her class schedule away, Sakura locked her dorm and headed for the dining hall.

Ino had been right – it was impossible to miss the dining hall. The loud voices of the other students could be heard from the moment Sakura entered the building. As her eyes scanned the room for Ino, Sakura noticed Sasuke sitting at a table by himself, a plate of untouched food sitting in front of him. The other students seemed to be making it a point not to go near him, despite the fact that most of the tables in the dining hall were overflowing. _It's a shame, a guy like that sitting alone. Didn't Ino say he was popular around here? _

Sasuke's head suddenly shot up, and Sakura realized all too late that she had been staring at him. Again. Feeling her cheeks heat up, Sakura tore her eyes away and looked around for her roommate.

"Sakura! Over here!"

Turning, Sakura saw Ino waving at her from one of the tables. Pushing Sasuke from her mind, Sakura made her way over.

"So you finally dragged your lazy behind out of bed, huh?" Ino teased, taking Sakura's books from her hands and putting them on the table. "Looks like I was right – the uniform fits."

"Perfectly," Sakura agreed. "Thanks." She wondered if Sasuke had continued watching her when she walked away.

"You feeling okay?" Ino asked suddenly. "Your face is all flushed."

_Great. _Sakura looked in Sasuke's direction out of the corner of her eye before replying. "I… guess I'm just feeling overwhelmed. I'm going to get so lost today trying to find my classes. This place is way bigger than my old school." It may not have been the reason for her face being flushed, but it wasn't a lie either.

Ino looked as though she knew better, but she smiled cheerfully and patted Sakura reassuringly on the back.

"You'll be fine – I know this place like the back of my hand."

* * *

"…I thought you said you knew this place like the back of your hand?"

"I do!" Ino protested angrily. "But this is the first year I've had a class in room 109. It's got to be around here somewhere, look, there's room 107." Grabbing Sakura's arm, Ino pulled her forward.

Sakura sighed. After Ino had introduced Sakura to some of her friends, she had insisted they compare their schedules. Upon discovering that they had first period together, Ino had reassured Sakura that there was no rush to get to class. Sakura had protested that she _liked _being early to class, especially on the first day, but Ino had convinced her that they'd still get there with plenty of time to spare. Now, with barely four minutes to go before the bell rang, Sakura was beginning to regret not standing her ground. It was only the first day and she was going to have being tardy on her permanent record. She hadn't gotten a scholarship by being late.

"Oh, look, there's Sasuke – let's ask him!" Ino said excitedly, tightening her grip on Sakura's arm.

Looking up, Sakura saw Sasuke walking a short distance ahead of them, one hand in his pants pocket and the other holding his books at his side. Before Sakura could protest, a blonde haired guy with a wide grin on his face popped up in front of them. Sakura shrieked, startled by his sudden appearance. Heart pounding in her ears, Sakura found herself wondering what it was with the guys in this school appearing out of nowhere.

"Damn it Uzumaki, we don't have time for you right now!" Ino exclaimed, clenching her fists. "We're already running late, so–"

"Hi, I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" The blonde extended his hand to Sakura, completely ignoring the now fuming Ino standing next to her.

Sakura looked down at his sweaty, dirt-covered hand and forced a smile. "Uh, hi – I'm Sakura Haruno." She didn't take his hand, instead grabbing Ino's arm. "We're actually running late, so we should really get going – but it was nice to meet you, Naruto." She flashed him a small polite smile before walking away.

"Good call on not shaking his hand," Ino said once they were out of earshot. "I've seen him come to class with food all over his face and noodles on his clothes - and it wasn't because of a food fight. It's kind of gross."

Sakura nodded her head. "Definitely."

Naruto brushed past them, and for a moment Sakura worried he might have heard their conversation. She was put at ease when he shot her a smile before heading into the classroom ahead. If he'd heard anything, he wasn't letting on. Gross or not, he'd been nice to her.

"Look, its room 109! We found it, and with a minute to spare!" Ino cheered, pumping her fist in the air.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief, but it caught in her throat as she saw who _else _was in the classroom: _Sasuke._ On any other day, she probably would have rejoiced the thought of him being in her math class. Today, after having been caught staring at him for the second time since becoming a student, all she wanted to do was crawl under a rock. The life of a starfish was suddenly looking pretty good.

Ino, oblivious to Sakura's discomfort, grabbed the pink haired girl's arm tightly. "We have math with _Sasuke! _And look – the only pair of desks left are in front of him! Are we lucky or what?"

"Yeah," Sakura muttered, eyes lowering to the ground. "Real lucky."

Ino released Sakura's arm and made her way up the aisle, claiming the seat directly in front of Sasuke. Sakura sighed; she had seen that one coming. That meant the only seat left…

"Hey, Sakura! Over here!"

…was in front of Naruto._ I'm sure it won't be that bad, _Sakura told herself. _At least I'll have someone to talk to when Ino's busy flirting with Sasuke. _Sighing, Sakura watched as her roommate spoke quietly to Sasuke. She tried not to feel jealous when the dark haired teen looked up at Ino and nodded curtly in response to whatever it was she had said. Ino turned back around, her face oddly serious as she opened a notebook and began writing in it.

Sakura walked up the aisle of desks, ignoring the pointed looks of the other students as she slid into the desk next to Ino. She was just organizing her books on her desk when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Sighing inwardly, Sakura turned around and looked at Naruto.

"If I knew you had math first, I would have told you not to worry about being late. This is my third year having Kakashi-sensei, and he's _always _late," Naruto explained. He rummaged through his binder for a minute before smiling sheepishly at Sakura. "You, uh, don't happen to have an extra pencil do you? Kakashi-sensei will _kill _me if he sees me using a pen."

Sakura nodded and turned around, opening her binder and pulling out one of the extra pencils she had tucked inside. Ino smirked at her before resuming doodling in her notebook. Sakura turned to Naruto and held out the pencil.

"Gee, thanks Sakura-chan, you're the best!" Naruto reached for the pencil, but it slipped out of his fingers and fell to the floor. Bending over the side of his desk, Naruto tried to grab it, but it was just out of his reach. He leaned over just a little further, the left side of his desk lifting off the floor.

"Naruto, I don't think that's a good id–" Sakura cut herself off as Naruto's desk began to tip over. The blonde haired teen managed to steady it, but not before all of his books clattered onto the floor between his desk and Sasuke's.

Sasuke watched as Naruto struggled to pick up his books and snorted.

"You got something to say, Sasuke?" Naruto demanded roughly, sitting up and slamming his books down on his desk. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"No."

"Damn right you don't," Naruto huffed, glaring.

Sakura observed the two boys' interaction curiously. When her eyes fell on Sasuke, he glanced at her for a moment before narrowing his eyes and turning to the front.

Naruto seemed to notice the light colouring in Sakura's cheeks and snorted.

"Figures," he muttered.

Sakura was just about to ask Naruto what he meant when she heard the classroom door slam shut. Turning to the source of the noise, Sakura saw a strangely dressed man walk up to the teacher's desk, dropping a small orange book on it. His hair was as grey as her grandmother's and he wore not only a mask that covered the lower half of his face, but an eye patch on his left eye as well. Still, from the smooth skin on the part of his face that was visible, Sakura could tell he was actually quite young – probably in his late twenties.

"Good morning, class. As most of you should already know, my name is Kakashi Hatake. I'll be your homeroom teacher this year." Kakashi scanned the classroom until his eyes settled on Sakura. "I see that we have a new student joining us. Why don't you come up to the front of the class and introduce yourself, Miss…?"

"Sakura Haruno," Sakura answered quietly. "And that's okay, really." She could already feel the eyes of her classmates on her as they whispered in what they believed to be hushed tones. The only one who seemed completely uninterested was Sasuke, who was sitting quietly in his seat with his arms crossed. She wondered briefly if he was even paying attention at all.

"I insist," Kakashi said, holding up his hand. "Just a few words, Sakura. Your likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, that sort of thing. Come on now, don't be shy."

Sakura glanced at Ino, who nodded encouragingly. Not wanting to leave a bad impression on their teacher, Sakura reluctantly stood up and walked slowly to the front of the classroom. She turned to face her classmates, feeling her stomach clench.

"My name is Sakura Haruno. I like…" For the briefest of moments, her eyes flickered to behind Ino's head. Feeling heat rise from the back of her neck into her face, Sakura looked away. "Uh, I… I like… t-trivia games. What I dislike is failing, and as for my dreams… well, I guess I haven't really given it much thought." She had been so focused on becoming a student at the academy that she hadn't thought about what she would do after that.

"Interesting," Kakashi mused, scratching the back of his head. "Well, you can take your seat now."

Letting out the breath she had been holding, Sakura walked quickly back to her desk and sat down. Ino gave her a reassuring smile before turning her attention back to their teacher.

"Before we start, I want you all to complete a preliminary test to determine whether or not we need to do a review unit." Kakashi held up a large stack of papers gleefully, seeming to take pleasure in his students' displeasure.

"Come on, Kakashi-sensei, you teach us every year!" One student shouted, rising from his seat.

"Yeah, the only one that needs the review unit is _Naruto!" _

"HEY!" Naruto shouted indignantly, standing up and glaring at the student that had insulted him.

Ignoring Naruto's outburst, Kakashi waved his hand at his students. "Yes, well, be that as it may, it's standard procedure. Would you please hand these out, Hinata?" Kakashi asked a student sitting near the front.

A timid looking girl with short, dark blue hair and icy almost-white eyes stood up, bumping into her desk. She let out a small gasp of surprise. "Y-y-yes, sensei," Hinata stammered. She grabbed the papers from him and began passing out the tests.

"Aw man, this is why I hate the first day back," Ino complained, chewing the end of her pencil nervously. "Once school's out for the summer, my brain goes to mush and I forget everything that doesn't have to do with boys or clothes."

"I'm sure you'll do just fine," Sakura said. "Just take a deep breath and do the easiest ones first. It won't help matters if you see a question you don't understand and panic."

"Right, easiest ones first," Ino repeated. "Got it."

After that, there was no talking allowed as Hinata gave out the last of the tests. Sakura glanced down at the paper in front of her, smiling. With her analytical mind, math was her best subject. This test was going to be a breeze.

* * *

Sakura stretched, glancing at the clock on the wall behind Kakashi's desk. There was still twenty minutes left of class, and at least eight students were still working away on their tests. She had been surprised to see a guy with eyes like Hinata's walk up and hand his test in before her, but she'd gone up not even a full minute later to hand in her own. Of course she shouldn't have expected to still be the first in math – this was a new school, for geniuses, sports champions and rich kids. The bar was set a lot higher here.

Glancing over at Ino, Sakura saw that her roommate had taken her advice and done the easy questions first, but was now panicking because all she had left were the hard questions that had confused her in the first place.

Fifteen minutes left of class. Five more students had handed in their tests; only Ino, Naruto, and Sasuke were still writing. Sakura found herself wondering if Sasuke was just precise and checking over his work carefully, or if he struggled in this subject. Somehow, it seemed hard to believe – he certainly wasn't panicking the way Ino and Naruto were.

Ten minutes left. Ino finally decided to end her torture and hand in the review test. From the sound of Naruto's frustrated outbursts, he was close to doing the same. Sasuke remained perfectly silent as he walked to the front of the room and placed his test on Kakashi's desk.

When only five minutes remained, Kakashi, who had been reading the orange covered book he'd brought with him to class for most of the period, stood up and leaned against the front of his desk. He glanced around the classroom for a while before finally addressing his students.

"There's an assembly tomorrow morning, so our class time will be cut in half. And anyone who tries to skip the assembly by not showing up to class _will _be dealt with by me personally." Kakashi appeared to be smiling, though it was hard to tell through his mask. "Also, Sakura Haruno, please see me after class."

Sakura nodded and began gathering up her books as the bell rang, signalling the end of class. She stood up at the same time as Sasuke went to walk past her desk. He just barely grazed her shoulder as he manoeuvred around her. Sakura's breath hitched and her heart began pounding rapidly in her ears. If this was how she reacted to him barely touching her, she had no idea how she was going to get through an entire year.

"Man, I so bombed that review test," Ino sighed, standing up and brushing her bangs out of her eyes. She glanced over at Sakura, who was still frozen in place. Ino's eyes flickered to Sasuke as he walked out of the classroom before looking back at Sakura, eyebrow raised in question. "I have to go get changed, I have gym class now. Maybe Uzumaki here can show you to your next class."

Without waiting for Sakura to answer, Ino walked out of the room. Sakura turned around and glanced at Naruto who was still scribbling away frantically at his test, sweat dripping down his forehead as though the test in front of him were a final exam and not a simple review.

Sighing, Sakura walked up to the front desk where Kakashi had taken his seat again. He looked up at her over his book briefly before putting it down on his desk.

"I didn't go over this with the rest of the class since they've had me as a teacher before, but I have a few things that I ask of my students. One, while it is honourable to help your friends with their homework, it is _not _honourable to do it for them. Two, any student caught doing their math in pen will be hung upside down by their ankles outside that window over there," Kakashi pointed to his right, and while his expression was cheerful, his tone was completely serious. Sakura found herself wondering if that was why Naruto had been so freaked out when he couldn't find a pencil. "And finally, no student is permitted to touch anything in my desk, _especially _my _Icha Icha _books."

"Of course, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura responded, smiling.

Kakashi turned his attention to somewhere behind her, and Sakura turned around to see Naruto erasing something furiously on his page.

"I'll sweet talk the cook into serving ramen at dinner tonight if you _get out of my classroom now_," Kakashi told Naruto cheerfully.

The blonde boy looked up excitedly and ran to the front of the classroom with his test. "You got it, sensei!"

Naruto ran back to his desk to grab his books. Taking advantage of his back being to her, Sakura attempted to slip out of the classroom unnoticed.

Unfortunately, fate was not on her side.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called, panting as he ran to catch up to her. Sakura looked at him as he fell in step beside her. "Do you know where your next class is?"

Looking down at the schedule she had in her hand, Sakura sighed. Asking Naruto for help was a lot better than being late to class.

"I have English in room 152," Sakura divulged, slipping her schedule back into her binder. "And I have no idea where that is."

"Wow, it must really be your lucky day Sakura – I have English too!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning.

Sakura forced a smile on her face. "Oh, uh, that's really great Naruto. Guess I don't have to worry about getting lost."

"Don't worry, I stay at the school all year long – you'll never get lost as long as _I'm _around!"

Sakura sighed. It was going to be a long first day.

* * *

English class passed by uneventfully. Sakura sat next to Hinata, who offered a shy smile to Sakura before returning to her reading. When their English teacher arrived, she didn't ask Sakura to do any more embarassing introductions, for which the pink haired girl was grateful. Instead, after attendance was taken they spent the class doing a quiet review assignment.

At lunchtime, Sakura walked to the dining hall alone. She'd managed to lose Naruto, who'd murmured something about a bathroom before taking off in the opposite direction once class was over. Sakura grabbed her lunch before joining Ino and her friends at the same table they'd sat at that morning. Sakura tried to pay attention as Ino complained about the other girls in her gym class - who apparently were too afraid of getting sweaty to actually do anything - but she found her mind drifting. Her eyes never stopped scanning the room for Sasuke, but they never saw him.

Third period was art class, which Sakura shared with Ino. Luckily, this time the blonde knew exactly where the classroom was. Paintings by past students proudly decorated the walls. The two girls claimed a table, spreading out their art books as Ino explained that their art teacher was a bit of a "free spirit" that not many students took seriously. The only ones who seemed to were the ones who actually wanted to be artists.

Ino suddenly fell silent, and Sakura looked up to see Sasuke walking into the classroom. She sighed - it was the second class she shared with both him _and _Ino, who hadn't taken her eyes off him since he entered the room - and she wasn't the only one. For the first time, Sakura noticed how the other girls reacted to his presence. Some of them pulled out compact mirrors, fixing their makeup or their hair; one was brave enough to claim the seat beside him, but Sasuke was quick to gather his things and move to another spot before the girl had a chance to open her mouth.

Their art teacher walked in and was quick to set the class to work, handing out the sketchbooks that they would be using for the term. She encouraged the students to share their work with each other and discuss the story they were trying to tell with their art. When no one volunteered, the teacher paired them up with different students. Ino was paired up with Sasuke, much to her delight.

Several minutes later their teacher asked them to return to their seats. Ino hurried back and buried her face in her arms on their table. "Do me a favour and put me out of my misery."

Sakura blinked. "What happened?"

"Complete and total mortification, that's what!" Ino moaned. "I told Sasuke his werewolf drawing was really cool, like real artistic, y'know? Went on and on about his choice of lines or whatever random art crap came to mind."

"What's so bad about that?" Sakura asked quietly, peering through her eyelashes at Sasuke before returning her gaze to her friend.

"It... was supposed to be a person. A non-werewolf changing person."

Sakura bit her lip, trying to hide back the grin that threatened to burst forth.

"Oh, go ahead, laugh," Ino sighed, lifting her head. "I know you want to."

"You have to admit, it is kind of funny," Sakura said, smiling. "Guess we know now that he didn't get here on an art scholarship, huh?"

Both girls looked at each other before breaking into a fit of giggles.

* * *

Dinner proved to be the loudest and most crowded meal of the day. After standing in a line for what felt like hours, Sakura carried her food over to where Ino sat.

"How was gym class?" Ino asked, smirking.

Sakura groaned and leaned back in her seat. "Torture. Anko had us running laps around the track field for the whole period. I'm going to be sore for weeks."

"Her class is like boot camp," Ino agreed, "but you'll never have a problem staying in shape as long as she's your teacher."

The door to the dining hall slammed open, the sound echoing throughout the room.

"RAMEN!"

Sakura looked up just in time to see Naruto bolt past their table, eyes wide as he held out a large bowl for the servers to dish food into. "What's his deal with ramen?"

Ino pulled a magazine out of her bag and began flipping through it. "Don't know, don't care. From what I've heard, he's never had parents or anyone to cook for him, so he probably grew up on the stuff."

"Oh," Sakura said quietly. "I... I didn't know."

"Why would you? It's not like you're friends or anything. Oh, hey, this quiz says I'm an expert at flirting!" Ino announced gleefully, leaning toward Shikamaru and shoving the magazine in his face. He glanced at it a moment before rolling his eyes.

"Why would _I _care?" He muttered, shoving a piece of fish in his mouth. "I'm not a girl."

His words quickly set off Ino, whose eyes narrowed as she stood up and began shouting at him. Sakura tuned out their argument and looked over at the table where Sasuke was sitting. She was surprised to find that he was no longer sitting by himself - Naruto had plopped down in front of Sasuke, slurping loudly at his noodles.

"Another girl for the Sasuke Uchiha fan club, huh?"

Sakura blinked and jerked her gaze away from Sasuke's table to see another of Ino's group, Tenten, smiling at her. Sakura glanced at Ino nervously, but the blonde was still yelling at Shikamaru.

"Kind of, I guess," Sakura admitted shyly, turning her attention back to Tenten. "Are he and Naruto friends?"

"As close to being friends with someone as Sasuke'll ever be," Tenten mused, shrugging her shoulders. "He's not really very sociable, and they're constantly competing with one another. But they're on the same team, so they have to get along somewhat."

"Oh, what sport do they play?" Sakura asked curiously, glancing over at the two boys. They were both pretty tall - maybe they played basketball?

"Sport?" Tenten repeated, eyebrows drawing together. "What do you mean?"

_"Tenten," _Ino hissed, spinning around in her seat. "Didn't you say you had to get some math notes off of Neji?"

Tenten stood up, knocking her chair back noisily. "Oh, r-right! I better go find him. Uh, talk to you later Sakura!" The brunette smiled apologetically before darting out of the dining hall.

Before Sakura could repeat her question to Ino, the blonde stood up and wordlessly gathered her things and walked away.

"Don't mind her," Shikamaru said suddenly, crossing his arms behind his head. "Ino's great and all, but her mood swings can be murder."

Sakura smiled grimly. "I'll keep that in mind."

* * *

That evening, after walking around the school to try and get used to her new surroundings, Sakura returned to her dorm. Ino was already there, listening to the music that she had playing quietly in the background. Sakura closed the door behind her and walked over to her dresser, looking through her clothes for a pair of pajamas.

Ino remained silent, stretched out on her bed as she stared up at the ceiling. Sakura hadn't seen her at all since she'd left at dinner, and though she'd tried to find Tenten, the brunette had remained elusive.

Deciding to break the silence, Sakura sat down on her bed and faced Ino. "So, what sport _does _Naruto play?"

"What are you talking about?" Ino asked, pursing her lips together.

"What Tenten was telling me at dinner."

"Naruto doesn't play any sports," Ino said, stifling a yawn behind her hand. "What's your sudden interest in him, anyway?"

"Just curious," Sakura brushed off. "So what's he on a team for then?"

Ino stood up and turned off the music before crawling back under the covers of her bed. "Naruto isn't on a team for anything_, _Sakura. I have to get up early, so I'm going to go to sleep. Night." Ino yawned and rolled until all Sakura could see was the blonde haired girl's back.

Frowning, Sakura changed into her pajamas and crawled into her own bed. She hadn't given much though to the excuse Ino made for Tenten to leave the dining hall, even though they were all in the same math class and she knew there had been no notes given - but now Ino was denying that Naruto was even on a team, when Tenten had seemed so certain. Deciding there was no point in worrying about it, she closed her eyes and soon fell asleep.

The sound of a door clicking shut some time later woke Sakura from her sleep. Turning on the lamp beside her bed, she looked over at Ino's empty, freshly made bed.

The clock on her dresser flashed 3:00am.

* * *

**Author's Note (Revision)**: This chapter is basically setting up the students, the classes, and the overall school environment as well as furthering Sakura and Ino's friendship before... well, you'll see soon enough. ;) The revisions in this chapter were basically tightening up the description, improving word choice and sentence structure, etc. I'm still not one hundred percent happy with it, but it's still a great improvement to the original draft so it'll do for now. Sakura's personality was toned down in this chapter as well to match how she behaved in the last chapter (and how she'll behave in later chapters). To those who love Naruto, no worries - I love his character to _death _and he's not going to be given a hard time the whole story. Err, what else can I say... I guess just that, with this chapter out of the way, things are going to start getting interesting. ;D And, remember, if there's no "**This chapter has been revised**" note at the end of the first author's note in the following chapters, they haven't been revised yet. So if there are any inconsistencies, try to ignore them, they'll be fixed up soon. :P


	3. Lockdown

**Author's Note**: Sorry for the late chapter – this one gave me a bit of trouble, since there were many possible directions to take it, and I was uncertain as to what events would be too early if I put them in this chapter. The reception for the last chapter, especially given Sakura's personality, was fantastic and I really appreciate the feedback.

Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, as I said before, logged in users should have a response in their inbox and anonymous reviews will be responded to at the end of this chapter. I hope you all had a great Christmas/New Year's, or whatever holiday you might celebrate – and without further delay, here's the third chapter!

**This chapter has been revised. **

* * *

**SHATTERED**_  
A Girl Named Blessed_

CHAPTER THREE: Lockdown

The next morning, Sakura woke up to an empty dorm. Ino's school uniform was hung up in her closet and her bed was undisturbed. Biting her lip, Sakura got out of bed and started getting ready for the day. She tried to put her worries aside, but despite her efforts she couldn't rid herself of the voice in the back of her mind that kept saying something was wrong.

After eating a small breakfast, Sakura headed to her first period alone. She slid the classroom door open and peered inside, hoping to see Ino sitting at her desk doodling. Instead all she could see were several students gathered at the front of the room, talking before class started.

Sighing, Sakura walked in and closed the door behind her. Ino hadn't returned from her late night excursion or gone to the dining hall for breakfast, and now it seemed like she was going to miss class as well. _Where could she have possibly gone in the middle of the night? _Sakura wondered, sliding into her seat and resting her head on her hands. _I mean, it's not like we have free run of the place after curfew. _The Konoha Academy rules and guidelines specifically stated that no student was to be outside their dorm after ten o'clock at night. Failure to comply would result in suspension, if not expulsion from the school. Sakura was certain that Ino wouldn't risk getting into that much trouble over a late night stroll.

"Morning, Sakura-chan!" Naruto greeted cheerfully, voice breaking through her thoughts.

Sakura's eyes flickered up to meet his briefly before returning to staring at her desk. "Good morning, Naruto," she murmured.

Naruto dropped his books noisily on his desk before yawning and plopping down on his chair. "So, where's Ino? She didn't make you come to class by yourself today, did she?"

"I haven't seen her since last night," Sakura said quietly, turning around in her seat. Naruto's expression seemed to darken for a moment as he looked at Ino's desk, but it vanished so quickly that Sakura decided she must have imagined it.

"Huh," Naruto commented. "Well, you can sit with me during the assembly if you want, I don't mind," Naruto grinned, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"That's alright Naruto, I'll probably just sit with Tenten," Sakura responded politely.

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow. "Sasuke will be with me," he added teasingly.

Sakura froze at the expression on his face before narrowing her eyes. "What makes you think _I _care?" Even as she willed her voice to be strong, she could feel her cheeks warming. _Traitor. _

Naruto snorted at her attempt to make her voice sound indifferent. "Because _all _the girls like Sasuke," he answered, as if it were obvious.

"Well, I'm not _like _all the other girls," Sakura retorted, crossing her arms defiantly.

Naruto mimicked her movements. "Oh, really? So you _don't _like Sasuke?" Naruto asked slyly, leaning closer. Sakura didn't answer, but she didn't look away either. Doing so would be admitting defeat, something she refused to do. Finally, Naruto said, "I guess if you don't like him, then you shouldn't mind me telling him?"

"Don't you _dare!" _Sakura cried suddenly, her arms dropping to her side. Embarrassed at her outburst, Sakura looked away. "Just – ugh – don't talk about me to him at all, _please. _I'd rather continue our relationship of me stealing glances and him not knowing I exist."

Naruto blinked. "Huh," he said, looking at her strangely. "I guess you weren't kidding about not being like all the other girls."

"Yeah, well, I'm not here to chase after boys." _Unfortunately. _Sakura sighed. "I need to keep my grades up or else I risk losing my scholarship to the school." Hearing the door to the classroom slide open, Sakura looked around and saw Sasuke walking into the classroom, books tucked under his arm. Her eyes widened as she quickly turned back to Naruto.

"You might want to stop blushing every time you see Sasuke if you want to stay under the radar," Naruto commented, pointing at her face.

Mortified, Sakura punched him hard in the arm before touching her warm face with her hand.

"OW! I was just _saying," _Naruto protested, rubbing his arm.

"Well _don't!" _Sakura hissed. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sasuke take his seat next to Naruto. Silently she prayed that Naruto wouldn't say anything else on the subject with the other boy so close.

"So what are you here on scholarship for anyway?" Naruto asked, opting for a safer topic as he looked sideways at Sasuke.

Relieved that Naruto wasn't hell-bent on embarrassing her any further, Sakura responded, "Academics." She risked a peek in Sasuke's direction before clearing her throat and continuing. "If a student has a certain grade point average, one of their school teachers may submit their names to take the Konoha Academy admissions test. If they score high enough, they have a chance at being selected to receive a full-scholarship to the school."

Naruto stared at her for a moment, eyes wide with wonder. "Wow, Sakura-chan, I didn't know you were so smart!" He exclaimed.

Sakura felt the back of her neck heating up and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not, really, I just spend a lot of time studying." She jumped as the final bell rang, signalling the beginning of class. Ino's desk remained empty. _Where _are _you?_

Tenten walked into the classroom with the boy who had handed in his test first the day before – Sakura now knew he was Neji Hyuuga, Hinata Hyuuga's cousin. Tenten's shoulders were hunched, eyebrows furrowed as she said something to Neji. His face remained serious as he listened, and Sakura had an uneasy feeling building in the pit of her stomach.

"Tenten!" Sakura called, waving the girl over.

Tenten exchanged a look with Neji before walking over to Sakura's desk. "Morning Sakura," she greeted, a small smile plastered on her face. "What's up?"

"I looked for you at breakfast this morning, but I didn't see you," Sakura answered, watching the brunette's reaction closely.

"Oh, Neji and I went for a jog and lost track of time," Tenten explained. "We had to run straight to class. Luckily for us, Kakashi's always late." Though the expression on her face never changed, Sakura remained suspicious. It had only been yesterday that Tenten had mentioned something about Sasuke and Naruto being on a team, something Ino had denied vehemently.

"I see," Sakura replied skeptically. "Ino told me yesterday she goes jogging in the morning too. Did you guys happen to see her?"

Tenten's smile dimmed and she shook her head in response. "Listen, about Ino–"

"Good morning class," Kakashi's voice interrupted as he strolled into the classroom. "We should be called down shortly for the assembly, so I thought we'd go over yesterday's test while we wait." Kakashi moved around the classroom as he handed the tests back to each student.

Before Sakura could ask Tenten to finish what she'd been saying, the other girl bit her lip and smiled briefly before making her way over to her own desk. Sakura frowned, wishing that Kakashi had been just a few seconds later in getting to class. _What was she going to say about Ino? _

Kakashi stopped next to Sakura's desk, passing her test to her. "You seem to have remembered your mathematics. Good work, Sakura."

Sakura murmured a quiet 'thank you' and looked at her test. A big, red '100' was circled in the upper right corner. She beamed. _That review test was easy compared to the entrance exam._

"AWWW, MAN!" Naruto exclaimed behind her, slumping down in his desk.

Sakura spun around and saw his test paper on the edge of his desk. It was covered in red ink. _How did he manage to get nearly every question _wrong? Sakura thought incredulously. Math had always been as easy as breathing for her. "It's just a review," Sakura said lamely, trying to cheer Naruto up. Instead he groaned louder, banging his head on his desk.

Kakashi finished handing out the tests and walked up to the front of the classroom, grabbing the master copy and leaning against his desk. As he finished reading the first question a voice over the intercom spoke.

"_All classes are asked to report to the auditorium for today's school assembly. Attendance _is _mandatory."_

"It seems we've been summoned," Kakashi announced, putting his copy of the test down on his desk. "Try not to waste too much time getting back once the assembly is over." With that, he walked out of the classroom, leaving his students behind.

Sakura frowned. "Aren't the teachers supposed to walk their class to the auditorium?"

"Yeah, but Kakashi-sensei never goes to the assemblies. He usually sneaks off to his office to read his _Icha Icha _books instead." Naruto rose to his feet and stretched his arms out behind his head.

_That doesn't seem very professional, _Sakura mused. _Not at an elite school like this. Kakashi-sensei must be a pretty important teacher to not get in trouble for that. _Standing, Sakura scanned the room for Tenten. Seeing that the brunette was already gone, Sakura sighed. It looked like she'd be sitting with Naruto after all.

"Do you mind… if I sit with you during the assembly after all, Naruto? I think I missed Tenten."

Naruto, who had been trying to stuff his test paper into his binder with little success, grinned widely. "Sure, Sakura-chan, I don't mind! _He _might, but I don't really care what he thinks." Naruto jerked his thumb in Sasuke's direction and Sakura turned to peek at the raven-haired teen.

"Do what you want," Sasuke said, voice indifferent as he uncrossed his arms and pushed past them.

"Thank you," Sakura murmured. Sasuke glanced at her for a moment before continuing to walk toward the door of the classroom without another word.

Naruto rolled his eyes as he and Sakura followed. "Don't mind him," Naruto said, leaning toward Sakura. "He's _always an ass," _Naruto added, raising his voice to be sure that Sasuke could hear. The dark haired boy made a 'Tch' sound but otherwise made no attempt to acknowledge he'd heard what Naruto said.

Sakura raised her eyebrow. "Aren't you two friends?" she asked, lowering her voice.

Naruto shrugged. "When it matters," he replied evasively. Sakura frowned and was about to ask Naruto what exactly he meant when she collided with something solid. She turned and saw Sasuke in front of her, frozen in place.

"That scent…" Sasuke murmured, his hand lingering a few inches from the door that lead to the courtyard. Sakura sniffed the air, feeling more than a little ridiculous as she did so, but noticed nothing out of place.

"What is it, Sasuke?" Naruto whispered. The smile that always lit up his face had vanished.

Sasuke's eyes scanned the hallway around them. "Nothing good," he answered. "Take her the long way."

Naruto looked like he wanted to object, but with a quick glance in Sakura's direction, he closed his mouth and nodded. Sasuke pressed his hand against the courtyard door, about to open it when Sakura reached out and grabbed his hand.

"I don't understand. What's going on?" Sakura asked, glancing between the both of them. "Why does Naruto have to take me the long way?" She realized suddenly that she was still gripping Sasuke's hand in her own, and quickly released it as if she'd been burned.

Neither boy spoke. Then Naruto grasped Sakura's arm, pulling her down the hallway before she could object. Turning to look back at where they had left Sasuke, she saw that he was gone, the courtyard door swinging shut.

"Tell me what's going on," Sakura demanded, pulling her arm away and clenching her hands at her side.

Naruto appeared oddly fixated on a loose string on his school uniform as he avoided her gaze. Finally, he looked up at her. "I don't know," he answered, "and that's the truth, I swear!"

Sakura glowered at him, replaying his words in her mind as she tried to determine how truthful they were. Naruto stared at her unwaveringly and finally Sakura sighed. "If that's the case, why didn't you ask him to explain what his problem was all of a sudden?"

They resumed walking down the empty hallway – the auditorium was just around the corner now. Sakura could hear the voices of the other students chattering loudly.

"Right, as if he'd waste his breath explaining himself," Naruto laughed. "I just know to trust Sasuke when it comes to these kinds of things, that's all." They walked into the auditorium, searching the room for a pair of seats.

"'These kinds of things?'" Sakura repeated. "Just how often does this happen?"

"Uh, not often," Naruto responded, his voice going up an octave. "Oh, look, there's two seats near the front!" He ran ahead and grabbed them before anyone else could, then turned around and waved at Sakura, his usual grin back.

Sakura glared back, irritated. _**Just what does a girl have to do to get some **_**answers **_**around here! **_She settled into the seat next to Naruto and crossed her legs, gazing around the room. The auditorium was almost full now, and a lot of staff members she didn't recognize were standing on the outskirts of the room. One of the teaches closest to where she and Naruto sat appeared to be reading something on his cell, the glow from the phone's display casting a small bit of light on his face.

"Who's that?" Sakura whispered, pointing the teacher out to Naruto.

Naruto crossed his arms behind his head and turned to where Sakura was pointing. "Oh, that's Mizuki-sensei," he explained, turning back to the front. "He's the guy's gym teacher."

Sakura frowned. "He looks kind of… familiar," she commented, watching as Mizuki pocketed his cell phone. "But I don't think I've seen him around the school before." _Where have I seen him? _Sakura tore her gaze away from the teacher as the lights dimmed.

At the front of the auditorium a spot light was fixed on a blonde woman walking across the stage. As she adjusted the height of the microphone stand, Sakura heard a loud metal squeal from the back of the room. Turning around in her seat, she saw Mizuki slipping out the door. _I guess Kakashi-sensei isn't the only one who doesn't like going to assemblies, _Sakura thought briefly, straightening in her seat as she focused her attention back on the woman standing on the stage.

"Good morning," the woman greeted curtly. "I'm sure most of you are wondering why we're having an assembly so early into the school year, so I'll get to the point. My name is Tsunade, and I have been appointed the position of Headmistress at this academy." Her announcement caused a sudden outburst of whispering amongst the students. Even Naruto looked shocked, his body tensing in his seat.

Tsunade whistled loudly to regain the student's attention, glaring in the direction of any hushed conversations she heard still trying to continue. Once the auditorium was silent once more, she continued. "Things this year at Konoha Academy are going to be changing, due to a new board of director's being assigned to this school. New rules are going to be implemented, for both the students _and _staff. You'll each receive the new student handbook in your last period class, and you will be expected to read over the new rules imm–"

Tsunade's voice trailed off as the intercom buzzed the auditorium. _"Attention staff and students, a full lockdown of the school is currently under effect. All staff and students are asked to remain calm and quiet. Any students loitering in the halls must report to the nearest classroom immediately." _The intercom beeped loudly as the announcement ended, and the auditorium fell silent. Teachers began securing the entrances to the auditorium as Tsunade instructed the students to sit with their backs against the wall as far away from the auditorium doors as possible. The spotlight that had been shining on her was now turned off, the room almost completely dark except for the few rays of sunlight shining through the high windows.

Sakura felt a hand on her shoulder and saw Naruto standing beside her. She followed him through the aisle of chairs over to the back corner where a few of their other classmates were sitting, huddled together.

"What's going on?" Sakura whispered, sitting down and pulling her knees up to her chest. "Is this a drill?"

Naruto sat down beside her. "I don't know," he whispered back. "We don't normally have drills this early in the year. And…" Naruto stopped, shaking his head. Even though he didn't finish his thought, Sakura knew they were thinking the same thing: Sasuke. Just what had he noticed earlier by the courtyard? Was Ino okay? _I… hope they're somewhere safe. _Sakura bit her lip and rested her head on her knees anxiously.

"Glad to see my students are sticking together."

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, his voice echoing throughout the auditorium.

Sakura's head shot up and she covered Naruto's mouth with her hand. _"Idiot,"_ she whispered harshly. "You're not supposed to shout like that during a lockdown, this is serious!"

Naruto mumbled something against her hand and Sakura pulled it back, wiping it off on her uniform.

"Sakura's right, Naruto." Kakashi was now sitting in front of them, legs crossed, looking as if he were sitting down for a nice picnic and not in the middle of a lockdown.

"Sorry," Naruto apologized sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Do you know what's going on, sensei?" Sakura asked quietly.

"I'm afraid I only know as much as the two of you," Kakashi whispered back, glancing around the room. "But I think if we don't want our newly appointed Headmistress to get angry with us, we should probably stop talking."

Sakura nodded absently. Her entire math class seemed to be sitting together, as well as a few other students she didn't recognize. Her mind wandered until she found herself thinking about Ino again. What would have possessed the blonde to leave their dorm at three o'clock in the morning? It just didn't make sense.

"Sensei," Naruto said suddenly, his voice breaking through Sakura's thoughts. "Earlier, Sasuke…"

"He isn't here," Kakashi stated. There wasn't a trace of surprise or concern in his voice, Sakura noticed.

"Should I have…?"

"No, you did the right thing," Kakashi said, focusing his visible eye on Sakura. "Sasuke will be fine."

Sakura looked away, abashed. Despite her efforts to follow their conversation, to pick up on _something _that might explain Sasuke's earlier behaviour, she was as clueless as before. Kakashi and Naruto both seemed to be taking extra care not to say anything too specific.

_What am I saying, _Sakura thought, giving her head a small shake. _They're not even supposed to be talking, so of course they're limiting how many words they say. Today's just been a crazy day and I'm letting it get to me, that's all. But… still… shouldn't Kakashi-sensei be more worried that one of his students is out wandering around somewhere during a lockdown? _

All conversations in the auditorium came to a halt after that. Sakura found herself hoping that it really was just a drill, one even the teachers hadn't known about, but she couldn't erase the mental image of Tsunade's face when the intercom had interrupted her.

Sakura didn't know how much time had passed before the secretary's voice came over the intercom again, announcing that the lockdown was over. Sakura's shoulders relaxed as she rose to her feet.

"Naruto," Kakashi said, gripping the blonde's shoulder. "I need you to come with me."

Without any objections, Naruto nodded and began to follow Kakashi. He stopped and looked over his shoulder at Sakura, a small frown on his face. "Sorry, Sakura-chan," he apologized. Before Sakura could respond, he caught up to Kakashi and the two of them walked out of the auditorium. A mixture of curiosity and concern almost fuelled her to follow them – she highly doubted they were just going off to talk about Naruto's math abilities – but before she could decide, someone was grabbing her hand.

"Hey, Sakura, come sit with Neji and me, okay?" Turning around, Sakura saw Tenten smiling at her, Neji by her side.

"Yeah," Sakura murmured, glancing at the auditorium door. "Okay."

* * *

**Author's Note (Revision)**: I remember this chapter being so hard to write the first time, I got so stuck trying to figure out where the hell I was going with the whole lockdown thing. I'll be the first to admit that it was initially only added to the story for a little suspense, though in the end I figured a purpose out for it. Anyway, the revisions for this chapter were basically just improving the writing, word selection and description. I changed the dialogue up a bit in some spots as well. Other than that, this is pretty much the same chapter – just written better.

**Anonymous Reviews**: (this was prior to revisions)

_Number 7__: _You're right, Sakura is shallow just the way she was in the beginning of the series. It actually pains me to write her that way, because even though I've pretty much loved Sakura from the beginning (even in her shallow days) I love her so much more for the way she grew up. I want to really capture that with this story, her characters growth from a shallow – at times even selfish – girl to someone who cares deeply for others (especially her friends). I'm relieved to hear that you don't think she's out of character though, that's always a big fear of mine when writing fanfiction for a new fandom. D: There's nothing worse than reading a story where the characters aren't anything like their original selves xD Thanks for reviewing! :)


	4. Lockdown Part 2

**Author's Note**: _Again, thank you so much for all the feedback on the last chapter, you guys rock! I'm sorry my updating schedule has not been followed _at all_ lately; I haven't been able to set aside much time to write. As usual, if you reviewed, you'll have received a response from me either in your inbox or at the end of the chapter :) I really, really appreciate your patience on this._

* * *

**SHATTERED  
**_A Girl Named Blessed_

CHAPTER FOUR: Lockdown (Part 2)

The remainder of the assembly was uneventful, and when the students were dismissed to return to their classes for the remainder of first period, Sakura pulled Tenten aside to talk alone. Neji went on ahead without looking back.

"Earlier before the assembly, you were going to say something about Ino," Sakura said, ignoring the students walking past her. Tenten nodded slowly. "Well?" Sakura prompted.

"She was in the infirmary this morning. I don't know why," Tenten added, as Sakura opened her mouth. "I just saw her there."

"The infirmary?" Sakura repeated, furrowing her brows. "Did she get hurt?"

"I really don't know," Tenten answered apologetically. "I wanted to see her, but the Headmistress told me to get to class if I didn't want to be–"

"Wait," Sakura interrupted, "Headmistress Tsunade was there? Isn't that kind of, I don't know... weird?"

Tenten's eyes flickered away from Sakura for the briefest of moments. "Not really, I mean, Tsunade – Headmistress Tsunade – well, she was the head nurse here before. From what I've heard, our old Headmaster didn't give the Academy a lot of notice that he was going to be resigning, and Tsunade got stuck with the job because he asked her to take over."

The sound of heels clicking against the hardwood floor filled the auditorium. Sakura turned around and saw their Headmistress walking in their direction. Had the woman heard their conversation?

The Headmistress walked past them, and Sakura let out a small sigh of relief – relief that was short-lived as Tsunade came to a stop and looked at the two teens over her shoulder.

"The assembly is over. You should hurry on to class." Tsunade advised sternly. Tenten tensed up before nodding and moving to leave the auditorium. Sakura stood her ground.

"Come on, Sakura," Tenten urged.

Sakura shook her head. "Go on without me."

Tenten's lips pressed tightly together as she glanced from Sakura to Tsunade and back again before she gave a slight nod. Sakura watched her friend's retreating back briefly before facing the Headmistress.

"Headmistress Tsunade–"

Tsunade held up her hand, and Sakura promptly closed her mouth.

"Please follow me."

Unsure of what else to do, Sakura trailed behind the Headmistress as they exited the auditorium and turned down the hall, away from the classrooms. Questions of whether or not she was in some kind of trouble flew through Sakura's mind as she replayed everything that had happened since she had arrived at the academy.

As though reading her mind, Tsunade's voice interrupted Sakura's speculations. "You're not in any kind of trouble. I just assumed you would want to see Miss Yamanaka – she's your roommate, correct?"

Sakura wrinkled her eyebrows, a small frown settling on her face. "Yes, she is."

The question of _how _Tsunade knew that hung in the air, unspoken. The two continued walking through the hallway until Tsunade came to a stop suddenly.

"She's in the last bed on the right," Tsunade informed her, sliding the infirmary door open. "I have a quick errand to run so you can have a few minutes alone with her before I need to resume testing."

"Testing?" Sakura frowned.

Tsunade nodded grimly, hands wrapped around her waist as she gazed into the infirmary. "I'm afraid that we've been unable to identify what's wrong with Miss Yamanaka. The circumstances in which she was found..." Tsunade trailed off, eyes closing for a moment as she sighed.

Sakura felt the colour draining from her face, the sound of her heartbeat roaring in her ears. "What circumstances?"

"You should try to talk to her," Tsunade said softly, turning away from Sakura. "I'll be back soon."

Sakura turned back to the infirmary, taking a deep breath as she walked into the room. All of the beds were empty, except the one Ino's frail body occupied. Sakura walked over to the girl's bedside and looked down at her pallid face. Ino's lips were slightly parted, her breathing coming in short, ragged breaths. She was either sleeping or unconscious. The air around her seemed heavy somehow, like a dense fog that slowly disappeared. Sakura felt dizzy suddenly, and she sank down into the chair next to Ino's bed.

"I'm sorry, Ino," Sakura murmured, her head hanging low. "If only I had stopped you from leaving... if only I had followed you. If I had just done _something, _maybe you wouldn't be in here."

Sakura was unsure of how much time had passed before she felt a hand settle on her shoulder.

"She'll be alright," Tsunade assured, before lifting her hand and proceeding to check on Ino.

Sakura didn't speak, she simply watched the Headmistress glance over Ino's form. When Tsunade began scribbling something down on her notepad, Sakura decided to break the silence.

"What is it?"

Tsunade glanced up from her writing, a peculiar look in her eyes. "Tell me something, Sakura. Did you make any observations of your own when you first came into the infirmary?"

Sakura stared back at the Headmistress, her brows slowly drawing together as she shook her head. "What kind of observations could I possibly make?"

"Humour me," Tsunade requested. "Did you notice anything at all, anything that didn't seem right to you?"

The way the Headmistress was staring at her, with such strong intensity, made Sakura shift uncomfortably in her seat. She looked back at Ino, unsure of what exactly Tsunade expected of her.

Finally, she shook her head.

Tsunade nodded slowly, a frown pulling at her lips as she looked away. "I see. I had thought..." She sighed. "You should go to your second period class now."

Sakura rose to her feet, lowering her head so that her bangs fell into her eyes. "I'm sorry."

Tsunade smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Don't be."

Nodding, Sakura walked past the Headmistress with one final glance at Ino's still body. Despite the Headmistress's words, Sakura couldn't help feeling as though she had failed the older woman.

_

* * *

_

Kakashi gingerly turned the page of the latest _Icha Icha _book, barely able to conceal his excitement as his eyes scanned over each word. It was lucky for him that he had no classes this period – he was just dying to read the final chapter, something he hadn't had the time to do during the assembly, not with the lockdown and –

The sound of the classroom door sliding open made Kakashi glance up from his book to see who was disturbing his precious reading time. When he saw the new pink haired student slowly drag herself in, he set his book down.

"I see you finally remembered to come get your books," Kakashi said conversationally.

Sakura gave a small start, and the look she gave him betrayed the fact that she hadn't realized anyone was still there.

"Headmistress Tsunade took me to see Ino," Sakura explained, walking to her desk and gathering her things. "She's in the infirmary."

Kakashi frowned behind his face mask. "Oh, I see. I hope she feels better soon."

"Me too," Sakura murmured. She went to leave, but paused, her hand gripping the door frame. "Sensei."

"Hmm?"

"Earlier, when the lockdown ended, you asked Naruto to leave with you. It was to look for Sasuke, wasn't it."

"You stated that as if it were a fact, Sakura. I don't believe anything I have to say will change your mind on the matter." Kakashi smiled, his tone relaxed as he leaned back in his chair.

"No," Sakura admitted. "I guess not. I just feel like what I'm seeing is just an illusion, and it's slowly starting to crack. Maybe I'm just having trouble getting used to being in a new school, and staying on campus instead of living in my own home. I don't know. But earlier, when I was in the infirmary alone with Ino..." Sakura paused, clutching her books closer to her chest as she looked away. "I don't know. I guess I'm just a little on edge. I should really get to my next class. I've already been gone so long. Thanks for listening, Kakashi-sensei."

"Of course, Sakura." Kakashi smiled at the girl as she walked out of the classroom. It seemed she was far more perceptive than he'd been giving her credit for.

_

* * *

_

Sakura never made it to her second period class. Instead, she sat outside of the classroom, sitting against the wall until the bell rang, signalling the beginning of lunch.

As Sakura made her way to the cafeteria, she couldn't help feeling as though she were being watched. Glancing around the hallway, she made eye contact with Shikamaru, who promptly looked away; his usual expression of boredom was missing.

"Shikamaru," Sakura greeted slowly, unsure of why he'd be watching her. The boy rubbed his neck as he walked up to her.

"I heard you saw Ino," Shikamaru said, not looking at her.

Sakura nodded. "Headmistress Tsunade took me to her."

"And?"

Sakura blinked. "And what?"

Sighing, Shikamaru glanced at her. "So how is she?"

"I don't know. Headmistress Tsunade, she... she said Ino would be fine, but..." Sakura trailed off, eyes downcast.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Tsunade's qualified. If she said Ino will be fine, she'll be fine."

"Yeah, I'm sure you're right," Sakura murmured, looking up. She caught a flash of spiky black hair from the corner of her eye. "Uh, I – I have to go." Sakura said suddenly, walking around Shikamaru and heading in the direction she thought she had seen Sasuke turn.

Sure enough, Sakura could see Sasuke up ahead at the end of the hallway she had gone down. Keeping a safe distance, she mentally debated about whether she should confront him or follow him to see where he was going.

The decision was made for her as Sasuke suddenly turned around, his lips pressed tightly together.

"Why are you following me?"

Sakura blanched, eyes widening. She tried to think of an excuse, an explanation that _wouldn't _make her seem like some crazy stalker – but failed.

"I want to know what's going on." Sakura stated, her voice quivering ever so slightly under the piercing stare of the Uchiha teen.

"Nothing. So go away," Sasuke retorted, turning around to continue walking.

"I know something is going on!" Sakura shouted after him. "And I'm going to find out!"

Sasuke didn't respond, didn't even falter for a second as he disappeared down another hallway.

* * *

**Author's Note**: _I'm not keen on the ending, and this chapter isn't as long as my usual, but because I was actually supposed to have this out a week or two ago (but was unable to due to a family emergency) and because that felt like a fitting place to end this chapter, I thought, what the hell, a shorter chapter is better than no chapter. The next one WILL be out sooner, I know exactly what I want to happen by the end of it, and permitted nothing _else_ happens at home I should be able to get it out according to schedule this time ;)_

_I spent a lot of time trying to work on reviving my old writing style standards, because apart from this fanfiction it has been a LONG time since I wrote anything faithfully and I'm quite a bit out of practice. I also switched perspectives a little in this chapter, just something experimental but I made sure not to have the perspective change too revealing regarding plot events. That would completely take the fun out of Sakura discovering it xP_

**Anonymous Reviews**:  
_Sabaku no Emiii_ - I'm glad you're enjoying it so much! :) I kind of like portraying Sakura's shallow side because it's a big part of her character when she's younger, and a lot of what made her grow up was being around Sasuke and Naruto, and the situations they got in to. They'll have plenty of that in future chapters, which I am _so_ excited to get to - it's taking every ounce of willpower I have not to just write the chapter where Sakura finds out everything that's going on at the school and jump right into the action. Heh, anyway, I hope this chapter was satisfactory! Thanks so much for reviewing :)


	5. Headaches and Ramen

**Author's Note**: Okay, I kind of changed my game plan a bit for this chapter: I won't talk about _that_ until the ending author's note, so make sure you read it if you're wondering what I meant. Anyway, this is a nice quick update for you guys, and it's longer than last chapter to boot! I know, you love me, right? ...or at the very least, you don't feel the need to sharpen any pitchforks and point them menacingly in my direction. And really, what more can a writer ask for than _that?_

Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews, you're all awesome possums. Also, thanks to everyone who said they hoped my family emergency was better; for the most part everything is back to normal and great! And as per usual, anonymous review replies at the end of the chapter.

* * *

**SHATTERED  
**_A Girl Named Blessed_

CHAPTER FIVE: Headaches and Ramen

**KONOHA ACADEMY  
**_(The New) Student Handbook__  
_  
_Rule #7: Students are not permitted to live at the Academy full-time; they must return to the home of their parent/guardian during summer vacation.  
_

* * *

Sakura spent the remainder of her first week visiting the still-unconscious Ino in between classes, trying to confront Naruto (who was getting shockingly good at avoiding her), and observing anything at the Academy that seemed remotely out of place.

It was lonely, returning to her room at the end of each day only to see Ino's empty bed. Tsunade never seemed to be in the Infirmary when Sakura went to visit, and she had to admit, she was somewhat glad of that. The only unfortunate part was that the other nurses that worked in the Infirmary didn't know anything about Ino's case.

Finally on Friday after Sakura's last class had ended, the pink-haired girl walked down to the front entrance where the Headmistress's office was. She bit her lip, hand hovering a few inches away from the door for a moment before she finally brought herself to knock.

"Come in," a muffled voice called from within.

Sakura straightened out her uniform self-consciously before turning the door knob and walking in to the office. Tsunade was sitting at her desk, reading what looked like the horoscope section in the Academy's newspaper.

"Sit," Tsunade ordered, indicating the chair in front of her desk. Sakura obliged, sinking into the plush armchair. "So tell me, Sakura. Why have you come to my office?"

Sakura cleared her throat, her mouth suddenly feeling very dry now that she was here. Tsunade watched her patiently, a firm but pleasant expression on her face.

"I... I wanted to ask you about Ino's condition." Sakura explained, settling her hands on her lap. "The nurses on duty, they don't know any more than I do, and I had thought..."

"That I might be able to help?" Tsunade supplied, setting the newspaper down on her desk and leaning her head against her hand.

"Yes," Sakura murmured.

"I'm afraid we still don't know much, but I've managed to stabilize her condition. It's... it's the best we can do for her now, until we know more." Tsunade responded quietly, standing and walking over to the window behind her desk. She reached up and gripped the side of the window with her hand, knuckles turning white.

"Don't you have any idea what could be wrong?" Sakura cried, her shoulders trembling as she stood. "You're supposed to be able to fix her!" Sakura shouted, feeling her eyes burn. "You were the Head Nurse, weren't you? So why after this many days are you still so uncertain? Or is her condition that bad that you have to protect me from the truth of what's wrong with her?"

Tsunade turned around, eyebrows drawn together as she stared at the younger girl. "Miss Yamanaka was found off campus in the middle of the night by one of our senior students, who brought her immediately to my private quarters. She was unconscious, and shaking from a terrible fever. I did what I could to help her, but she still wouldn't wake. I had her brought to the infirmary and began running tests. There was nothing conclusive. I had my suspicions that she had somehow been poisoned, but there is nothing in her system that our ordinary medics can detect. At this time, there's nothing more we can do until we find out _exactly _what is wrong with Ino. I'm sorry."

Sakura gaped, before falling back into the chair she had previously been occupying. Tsunade claimed that Ino was stabilized, so at least she wouldn't be getting worse – for awhile. But what if she had been poisoned? If they couldn't detect it with all their machines and tests, how could they possibly hope to cure it?

"Sakura." Sakura's head slowly rose as she made eye contact with the Headmistress. "I meant what I said before – Ino _will _be fine. It'll just take longer than I had hoped before she'll be back to normal."

"How can you be so sure?" Sakura whispered.

"Because," Tsunade said, eyes twinkling, "I'm _not _an ordinary medic." Before Sakura could ask what she meant, Tsunade was guiding her to the door. "It's your first weekend at the Academy, Sakura. Try to enjoy yourself a little, won't you?"

Sakura turned around. "Headmistress... the night that Ino was found, I saw her leave our room. It was three o'clock in the morning. I thought it was strange, but... I didn't follow her anyway. I should have." Sakura hung her head. "I'm sorry."

"Three o'clock?" Tsunade repeated. "You're certain?"

Sakura raised her head. "I am."

"But that would mean..." Tsunade trailed off, eyes widening slightly. "Thank you, Sakura. This information will be very helpful."

"It will?" Sakura said skeptically.

"It will."

Sakura waited for Tsunade to elaborate, but when the Headmistress turned to return to her desk, the pink haired girl realized she was being dismissed. Sighing, she turned to walk out of the Headmistress's office –

– and fell to her knees, gripping her head in her hands as a blinding pain shot through it. She cried out in pain, the noises around her crackling until they slowly began to fade out. She could faintly make out the sound of her name being called, but she couldn't move her lips to respond.

She couldn't move at all.

As suddenly as the sensation had come, it was gone. Sakura opened her eyes, slowly lifting her hands away from her head as the burning pain dissipated. She realized that the Headmistress was kneeling beside her, one arm draped over the Sakura's shoulders.

"Wow, what a head rush," Sakura murmured, trying to stand. She stumbled a little before regaining her balance. Tsunade removed her arm.

"Is this the first time that you've felt like that?" Tsunade asked her. Her gaze on Sakura was unwavering.

"I used to get headaches a lot when I was younger, but... nothing as bad as that," Sakura answered, rubbing her temple gently. "I thought for sure I was going to pass out."

"Sakura, if you feel like this again, I need you to come see me. Please." The pleading tone in Tsunade's voice caught Sakura off guard, as she lowered her hand and looked at the Headmistress. The older woman's face was blank, but her eyes gave away her feeling of concern.

"Do you think it'll happen again?"

"Yes," Tsunade answered soberly. "I do."

Sakura was startled by the Headmistress's answer, but she nodded anyway. "Then I promise."

_

* * *

_

After the strange conversation she'd had with Tsunade, Sakura didn't feel up to socializing with anyone, so instead of heading to the dining hall for dinner she changed into regular clothes and went off campus.

Down the street from the Academy, Sakura saw Naruto sitting on a stool outside of the Ichiraku Ramen Shop. He was slouching, poking at his ramen but not actually _eating _it – and if there was anything Sakura had learned about the blonde haired boy, it was that there was most _definitely _something wrong when he couldn't bring himself to eat ramen.

Sakura paused, just far enough away that she didn't think Naruto would be able to see her. Should she talk to him, ask him what was bothering him? She still thought he could be disgusting at times, like the other day when he had complained about running so late he hadn't even been able to put on clean underwear; but she knew now that he was a pretty nice guy if you could get past all that. And maybe, just _maybe, _she could get the conversation to segue into what was going on at the school.

The decision made, Sakura took a deep breath before continuing to walk toward Ichiraku's. She sat down on the stool next to Naruto.

"What's wrong with you?" Sakura asked, getting directly to the point. Naruto straightened up and looked at her.

"I've been reading the new Student Handbook that the Academy gave out," Naruto answered, finally picking up some ramen and putting it in his mouth.

"What's so bad about that?" Sakura asked, after (reluctantly) ordering herself a bowl of ramen.

"Rule number seven: Students are not permitted to live at the Academy full-time; they must return to the home of their parent/guardian during summer vacation." Naruto recited.

"So?"

"I don't _have _a home to go to during summer vacation," Naruto explained, slouching again and pushing his ramen away. "I've lived on campus since Iruka-sensei brought me to the Academy. There never used to be a rule saying I had to leave."

"Oh." _Way to be insensitive, Sakura. _"Can't you just stay with Iruka-sensei, then?"

"I can't ask that, he's already done so much for me!" Naruto exclaimed. "It wouldn't be right for me to ask for more."

Sakura bit her lip, feeling certain she was going to regret this. "I... I'll make you a deal, Naruto. Answer my questions, and you can stay with me for summer vacation. I know my parents, they won't mind."

"REALLY!" Naruto exclaimed, jumping to his feet. Then the wide smile slowly disappeared from his face as he seemed to process Sakura's condition. "I'm sorry, Sakura. I really can't answer your questions, I'm... I'm not allowed. And that's all you're getting out of me on the subject, you got that? So don't ask me anything else, not one more thing!"

Sakura sighed; she should have realized that Naruto wasn't going to tell her anything. She'd been trying to get something, _anything _out of him all week now. She finished up her bowl of ramen, paid for it and then stood up.

"I'm going to head back to the Academy," Sakura said, turning away. She stopped after taking just a few steps – this she _knew _she was going to regret. She turned back and walked over to Naruto once more. "About what I said earlier – forget about my condition. You can stay at my house over summer vacation anyway, if you want. Okay?"

"You mean that?" Naruto asked in awe.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, I do. But you know, if Iruka-sensei cared about you enough to get you into an elite academy like this one, I think he'd want you to go to him first."

Naruto frowned, looking back at his now cold bowl of ramen. "I already owe him so much... but okay, Sakura. If you think that's the right thing to do, I'll try."

"Good," Sakura smiled.

"Hey, Sakura-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"Does this mean you consider me a friend now?" Naruto asked shyly.

Sakura blinked at him, unsure of what to say. "What makes you think I didn't before?"

"Well... you did kind of agree with Ino when she said I was disgusting, back on your first day."

"You... you did hear that, huh?" Sakura responded, feeling more than a little ashamed. "I'm sorry, I know I'm a shallow person. I mean, I don't know the first thing about Sasuke except he doesn't talk much and he's _really _cute – but I still like him. Really, you shouldn't want someone like me to consider you a friend."

"I don't think you're shallow," Naruto protested. "You're too nice of a person. If you were really that shallow, you wouldn't have bothered with me at all."

"Thanks, Naruto," Sakura said quietly, a small smile settling on her face.

"Anytime," Naruto beamed, puffing his chest out. "Oh, and by the way – Sasuke _loves _tomatoes."

"Huh?"

"You said you didn't know the first thing about him. Well, now you do!" Naruto exclaimed, happily digging in to his ramen.

"Really? _Tomatoes?_" Sakura repeated skeptically. Naruto nodded.

"And he hates sweets, so I wouldn't suggest offering him any. Although with the way you blush around him, you probably wouldn't be able to anywa—_OW!" _Naruto gripped his head with his hands, nursing what would probably soon be a large bump, courtesy of Sakura's fist.

"Enjoy your ramen, Naruto!" Sakura called sweetly, turning around and walking back to the academy.

_Tomatoes, huh?_

_

* * *

_

Closing the door to her room, Sakura kicked off her shoes and walked over to her bed. She wasn't sure why she had come back to her dorm so early – and now she didn't know what she should do.

Sakura sat on the edge of her bed, looking over at Ino's things. How many times had she (guiltily) gone through them, hoping to find some kind of clue as to why the girl would have left their room so early in the morning?

Feeling the signs of a headache coming, Sakura reached into her bedside drawer and grabbed a bottle of aspirin. She walked into the bathroom, turning the tap on to let the water run cold so she could get a glass. As she waited, she decided to hang up her school uniform in the closet she shared with Ino.

Ino's school uniform was still hanging up on her side of the closet, and Sakura touched it gingerly before pulling her hand back. Tsunade had been so certain that Ino would be alright that she had almost convinced Sakura it was true, but what if it wasn't? And what exactly had Sakura said that was so 'useful' to helping Ino? _What's the big deal if it was three o'clock when Ino left? _Sakura wondered.

As she backed up out of the closet, Sakura noticed something sticking out of the pocket of Ino's school jacket. It looked like a piece of paper. Grabbing it, Sakura backed out of the closet, closing it before unfolding the paper in her hands.

_Ino – _

_There's something I want to talk to you about. Meet me on my shift outside the Academy gates._

_Sasuke._

No matter how many times she read it, the name at the bottom of the page didn't change. Sakura crumpled the note in her hand, feeling dejected. Even though she had promised Ino she wouldn't try to get Sasuke to like her, she had never anticipated he might be interested in her roommate – especially after noticing his antisocial behaviour.

Throwing the note into the wastebasket, Sakura went into the bathroom to fill her glass with water and take an aspirin. This was just great. Here she was, acting like the good, concerned friend, and Ino hadn't even told her that she'd gotten a note from Sasuke Uchiha.

Sakura walked back over to her bed, plopping down on her stomach and staring at the wastebasket. Suddenly, she stood up and walked over to it, pulling out the crumpled note. She smoothed it out on the floor.

"'Meet me on my shift,'" Sakura reread. "Shift? Shift for _what?" _

And then she remembered what Tsunade had said: _Miss Yamanaka was found off campus in the middle of the night by one of our senior students... _Sasuke wasn't a senior student, so he couldn't have been the one who found Ino – but maybe he was the one who got her off campus in the first place.

"Looks like I have to talk to Sasuke," Sakura muttered, tucking the letter into her jeans pocket. And while her inner self was cheering and dancing like a rock star, her outer self could only feel mortified at the thought of confronting Sasuke Uchiha – _again._

_

* * *

_

**Author's Note**: I told a few of you that I was intending to 'reveal all' (although not _literally _everything... just what's been going on at the school) in this chapter. That... sort of changed up a bit, as you can see. Instead of making this a long, longgg chapter, I decided to end it with Sakura leaving to find (and confront) Sasuke. BUT! Next chapter, absolutely 100% certain, _things are going down, and things are gonna be revealed. _How do I know this to be 100% certain? Well, because the next chapter is the one I originally envisioned when I came up with the idea for this story. So I'm sorry to all of you that are pulling your hair out alongside Sakura, wanting the answers: I promise you I'll be working on the update as soon as I post this chapter, so you'll have your answers soon. Fair enough? Great! ^^

Oh, and the beginning of this chapter, with the whole "new student handbook" entry? I'll probably try to do that every chapter if I can, and make it relevant to what that chapter is going to be about (however briefly it may be.) That way you can see the new (and old) rules that are in place at the Academy now, without me dryly listing them as Sakura reads the handbook or something.

Also, cookies to anyone who noticed my not-so-subtle foreshadowing throughout this chapter; extra cookies if you say one that even _I _didn't realize I put in there, since foreshadowing isn't generally something I even *attempt.*

**Anonymous Reviews**:

_Angel:_ Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying reading it! Hopefully you like this chapter as well!


	6. Healing Hands

**Author's Note**: I am so, so sorry for being a terrible author and person for not updating this sooner. I've had the majority of the chapter finished for a long time now, but honestly, my writer's muse has been dead lately. My grandmother passed away at the end of March, which is a bad time of the year for my family to begin with, so any desire to write was pretty much shot. And then, partly because we've been wanting a new dog ever since our pitbull passed away last year, and partly because we needed something to make it more cheerful around here, we got a new golden retriever puppy. He's the sweetest dog you'll ever meet, but a complete and total handful! With my dad working, and my mom trying to clean out my grandmother's place bit by bit, I'm normally on dog sitting duty. ...and sadly, I don't trust him around my laptop quite yet.

SO. Excuses though they might be, that's where I've been, and that's (part) of why this has taken so long. I have more time on my hands now though, and inspiration has been returning, so you can expect more frequent updates. Thanks so much for sticking with it, and now, without further adieu, here's the chapter I've been wanting to write ever since I first got the idea for this story.

* * *

**SHATTERED**

_A Girl Named Blessed_

CHAPTER SIX: Healing Hands

**KONOHA**** ACADEMY**

_(The New) Student Handbook_

_Rule #2: Students must not be out of their dorm room after 10:00pm._

* * *

Sakura sighed, slumping down on a bench outside the academy gates. She had spent the last few hours running all over the school looking for one _Sasuke Uchiha, _and she'd come up with nothing. Zilch.

Well, not _completely _nothing; she now knew that he shared a dorm with Naruto, which probably explained his tolerance of the (much louder) teen. She also knew that he wasn't in his dorm – neither was Naruto.

Which lead her straight back to square one, without a clue as to where she'd find the dark haired boy; this was what lead her to sitting outside the academy gates, since she was fairly certain that Sasuke wasn't anywhere on campus. Eventually, he'd have to come back, and when he did, Sakura would be ready for him.

Sakura pulled the now badly creased piece of paper out of her pocket, tracing her finger over the name at the bottom. Had she really believed that Sasuke would have a clue as to what happened to Ino, just because he wanted to meet up with her after curfew? Or did she just want an excuse to talk to the dark, mysterious boy of her dreams?

If she was being honest with herself, it was a combination of the two. Still, she couldn't deny that there was something strange with Sasuke asking _any _girl to meet up with him – he didn't even like hanging around Naruto, which from what Sakura had heard, was the Uchiha's only real friend at the academy.

Time seemed to pass by exceedingly slow; on several occasions Sakura found herself dozing off, head jerking upright whenever she caught herself. Though many students came back to the academy from various directions, not one of them was Sasuke.

_I don't even know what I'm doing, _Sakura found herself thinking, as she looked up at the now darkened sky. _Even if I did find Sasuke, what would I say to him? Oh, hi, I found this note you wrote my roommate in her school uniform and since she's been in the infirmary unconscious all week, I thought maybe you could tell me just why exactly you lead her off campus at such an unholy hour of the night? I mean, as if. I don't even know how old this note is – maybe he wrote it to Ino weeks ago, and she just kept it on her all this time because she likes him so much. _

The creaking of metal met Sakura's ears, and she turned toward the academy gates just in time to see them slam shut. Her eyes widened as she jumped to her feet, running over to the gates.

"Hey! It's not even curfew yet!" Sakura shouted, gripping the iron bars tightly. "HEY!" She rattled the gates furiously before letting go, arms falling to her sides as she sank down to her knees. She glanced at the watch on her wrist; it was 9:56pm.

"Great," Sakura murmured. "I just _had _to go off campus in the middle of the night to try and find Sasuke. I should have just sat outside his dorm and waited for him or Naruto to get back – and now look at the mess I'm in! How am I ever going to get back into the Academy now?"

Sakura sighed, head hanging low as her bangs fell into her eyes. Once the academy gates were closed, that was it – they weren't opening again. Even if she got someone to override the security system for her and manually open the gates, she'd still be in a _lot _of trouble.

_There has to be another way into the school, _Sakura realized, releasing her grip on the gate as she stood. _Ino wouldn't have gone off campus at three o'clock in the morning if she couldn't get back inside. _

Feeling rejuvenated, Sakura began following the wall that surrounded the academy grounds, running her hand along the course stone. Maybe she'd get lucky and find a tree, or a gap in the wall somewhere.

The sound of angry shouts met Sakura's ears as she reached the back of the academy. _That sounded like... Sasuke?_

Peering around the corner, Sakura gasped. Sasuke was standing, clutching his right arm as blood dripped down the pale flesh. In front of him was a young man Sakura had never seen before, though she could tell from the uniform he wore that he was also a student at the academy.

Sakura immediately pulled herself out of sight, pressing against the stone wall.

"Don't look so surprised, _Sasuke-kun_. Surely by now you've learned that I always do what benefits myself the most? But oh, don't worry – I'll come back for you."

"I thought you understood – I thought you knew what it was like to lose _everything! _How could you betray your family's memory like that, as if they meant nothing?" Sasuke shouted.

"I have no family," the older teen responded, so quiet that Sakura had to strain to hear. "They died a long time ago, and their memory is meaningless. I understand better than you what it's like to lose everything. Some day, Sasuke, you'll follow the same path I've chosen. Your fate is inevitable."

"I don't believe in fate," Sasuke spat. "And I will never follow you, Kabuto."

"Not even if it means finding the brother you've been searching for all this time? Did you ever stop to think that maybe, Itachi didn't _want _you to find him? That he abandoned you because he was tired of having to protect such a worthless, weak little boy?"

Just as Sakura risked looking around the corner again, Sasuke cried out, a mix of pain and anger as Kabuto was suddenly in front of him, a glowing palm pressed firmly against Sasuke's chest.

"I'll tell Itachi you said hello," Kabuto whispered, before vanishing into thin air. Before Sakura could process what had just happened, she saw Sasuke wavering, ready to pass out.

"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted, running over to him. She got to him too late as Sasuke fell face first onto the ground. Sakura struggled to turn him over on to his back, trying to wake him up. "Please Sasuke," Sakura choked, "please open your eyes."

Sasuke's injuries seemed far worse up close than they had at a distance; the deep vertical cut on his arm was now visible beneath all the blood, and a darkened handprint was burned through the fabric of his shirt and onto his flesh where Kabuto had placed his hand just moments ago.

There was no way Sakura could carry him anywhere to get him the help he needed – she was too small, too weak. But if she ran to go get help, and left him here alone... _anything could happen. _

"There has to be something I can do," Sakura whispered. "If I had just run out here sooner... or if I had run for help the moment I saw you... Sasuke... I never even got to know you. I wish... I wish..." She trailed off as a sharp, blinding pain shot through her head, a high pitched noise echoing in her ears.

Something was _wrong; _every part of Sakura's body felt as though it were on fire, as if the blood in her veins was rapidly approaching boiling point. She coughed, finding it hard to breathe air into her lungs.

The edge of her vision darkened, her surroundings fading away almost completely. She could barely make out the distinct movement of her hands traveling across Sasuke's wounds – first the gash in his arm that was still bleeding profusely, the skin now closing back together, and then the burn on his chest. The more Sakura tried to help him, the worse she felt, but she had only one thought in her mind: _Please, please let Sasuke-kun be alright._

Sakura didn't know how much time had passed before her hands stopped moving. Though the pain was still present everywhere in her body, she had long since stopped feeling anything but numbness. Sasuke's breathing was coming in longer, more even spurts. It was impossible for her to tell if he was going to be okay – but he was _better, _and that was the best she could do before she collapsed on top of him.

* * *

**Author's Note**: This was initially going to be a much longer chapter, the second part in Sasuke's perspective as he wakes up to Sakura lying on top of him – but because you guys have waited so long already, I didn't want to make you wait any longer. Hopefully, that's alright with everyone. A few things to note:

1. This chapter didn't really answer questions, but some revelations WERE MADE.  
2. Next chapter is the beginning of Part II, and will start off in Sasuke's perspective. This story is still meant to be Sakura's perspective for the most part, though. I might do a story in Sasuke's point of view later on, since his type of character is more my forte.  
3. The headaches/nausea/pain Sakura experienced were her powers awakening. I always make that painful when I write these kinds of stories - I'm not sure why. I must have read it once or saw it in a movie and liked it.  
4. Yes, I realize that Sasuke was particularly talkative and expressive during his conversation with Kabuto. I wrote it that way intentionally. Hopefully it still didn't seem TOO off, but just know that it's for a reason regardless. xD  
5. I'm sorry this chapter was so short and everything happened so fast. D: I might go back and rewrite it, but I'm going to start the next chapter since I'm excited to be writing in Sasuke's perspective. x)

**IMPORTANT**: I urge all of you to click the youtube link on my profile, and watch that video. It's a SasuSaku AMV done to the song THIS STORY WAS TITLED AFTER. I was looking up SasuSaku AMV's for inspiration awhile back and discovered this video. I loved it so much that I have it downloaded to my computer. It is EXACTLY why that song fits this pairing, and honestly makes me cry almost every time. ...yes, I'm aware of how pitiful that sounds. I don't really care. xD

**NEXT CHAPTER**: Sasuke wakes up and finds that not only are the wounds Kabuto gave him healed, but there's a pink haired girl passed out on top of him. It doesn't take a genius to connect the dots, but Sasuke still can't quite believe that the annoying new girl could possibly have powers of her own. Just who exactly _is _this Sakura Haruno?

The second part of the story begins!


	7. A Strange Beginning

**Author's Note**: I'd just like to extend a warm welcome to Spring – the bright green grass and the freshly bloomed flowers have been sorely missed. Now please don't make my sinuses act up, 'kay? Some day, I'll find out what I'm allergic to – or at the very least buy some kick ass allergy medication.

Thanks for reviewing the last chapter, I'm so appreciative that you guys don't hate me for being absent so long, and I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last. You might have a new story to look forward to from me in the future, I'm not sure yet. It may or may not be in the regular Naruto-verse; I'd like to do one with ninja and stuff, but I'm horrible with action scenes (which are easier to fake when it's magic, hehe.) Alternatively, there's this island idea I've been playing with that might still take place in the Naruto-verse... but I've already said too much.

* * *

**SHATTERED**

_A Girl Named Blessed_

CHAPTER SEVEN: A Strange Beginning

**KONOHA ACADEMY**

_(The New) Student Handbook_

_Rule #1: Absolutely no fighting will be permitted on school property. Anyone found breaking this rule will be expelled._

* * *

"_I have no family. They died a long time ago and their memory is meaningless. I understand better than you what it's like to lose everything. Some day, Sasuke, you'll follow the same path I've chosen. Your fate is inevitable."_

_"I don't believe in fate," Sasuke spat. "And I will never follow you, Kabuto."_

* * *

The last thing Sasuke Uchiha expected when he regained consciousness was to see a girl sprawled out across his chest. He certainlyhadn't expected it to be that new girl _– what was her name again?_ – passed out on top of him.

"Tch, annoying," Sasuke muttered, trying to lift himself to a sitting position. He winced, anticipating the pain that would surely resonate throughout his arm – but the pain never came.

_My arm is... healed? _Sasuke thought, turning to look at where he had been struck. There was dry blood caked on his arm, so he knew it hadn't been an illusion - yet the wound was gone. Sasuke turned to look at the unconscious girl lying on top of him. A strange aura was emanating off of her, one that he was certain hadn't been there before.

Sighing heavily, Sasuke picked the pink haired girl up and positioned her carefully on his back. Once he was certain she wouldn't fall, he jumped effortlessly on top of the stone wall surrounding the academy.

Kakashi's office was close to the front entrance, and Sasuke knew that his teacher would still be there despite the late hour. Kakashi was always late for everything – even grading homework.

Not bothering to knock, Sasuke threw the door open and closed it behind him as he entered. Kakashi had a familiar orange book in his hand, eyes glued to the page.

"It's a little early for you to be requesting a retest, don't you think Sasuke?" Kakashi asked smoothly, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Kakashi."

The tone of Sasuke's voice was enough to tear Kakashi's eyes from his book, and that was when the older man finally seemed to notice the girl on Sasuke's back.

"I'll take Sakura now, Sasuke," Kakashi said quietly as he stood and took the girl from Sasuke. "I don't suppose you feel like explaining what happened on tonight's shift?"

Sasuke watched as Kakashi gently placed the girl – _Sakura, how original – _down on the couch near his desk before responding.

"Kabuto approached me after he, Naruto and I had split up on our shift. He said that he had discovered something about Itachi that I might want to know."

"Oh?" Kakashi said, returning to his chair. "And had he?"

"I don't know," Sasuke bit out. "He just attacked me."

The fact that Kakashi didn't look the least bit surprised bothered Sasuke; had their teacher known about Kabuto all along? The cynical little voice in the back of Sasuke's mind that had been quiet for so long spoke up once more: _had he been wrong to trust Kakashi after all? _

Kakashi seemed to notice the suspicion in Sasuke's eyes. "I've known – or at least suspected – that someone in our organization was leaking information to the enemy. I never suspected it to be one of my own students, but that's as far as my surprise goes. Where does Miss Haruno fit into all of this?"

Sasuke glanced at the unconscious girl before returning his gaze to Kakashi. "After Kabuto made the first strike, I tried to fight back, but he... used a power I'm not familiar with. I tried to call on the sharingan but was unable. I passed out, and when I came to, the girl was passed out on top of me and my injuries were gone."

"Interesting," Kakashi murmured, looking over at Sakura.

When he didn't say anything else, Sasuke spoke up. "What are we going to do about Kabuto?"

"Replace him, of course."

"With _who?"_ Sasuke asked incredulously.

"Miss Haruno will do quite nicely, I think."

"Please tell me that you're joking."

"Ah Sasuke, I never joke with you! You have no sense of humour. What exactly are your objections to Sakura joining the team? Naruto seems fond of her." Kakashi added, reaching over and grabbing his book.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "He's a moron."

"He's your friend."

Sasuke shifted uncomfortably, keeping his face blank. He supposed Naruto _was _his friend, as close as anyone could be, but that didn't change the fact that he was an idiot. Kakashi chuckled, as though he could somehow guess what his student was thinking.

"I have no objections against the girl personally. I just don't see why you want her to join our team, she's a normal student." Sasuke explained, crossing his arms.

"A normal student wouldn't have been under investigation by Mizuki, nor would a normal student have been able to heal the injuries Kabuto inflicted on you. No, Sakura is far from ordinary, and it seems she's finally going to be of some use to us." Kakashi smiled then, opening his book and flipping to the page he had left off on.

_Mizuki... was investigating this girl? Why? _Sasuke looked over at her, eyes narrowed as he scrutinized her. Something had changed in her, and the strange aura that he had detected before was stronger than ever. It was almost as if...

"Her powers were dormant."

"And now they have awakened, yes," Kakashi replied. "We'll have to inform Tsunade of this. It seems she's been keeping an eye on Sakura ever since Ino was poisoned. Perhaps she suspected this would happen soon. I suppose it would be safe to assume Kabuto may have had something to do with removing the barriers around the academy that day we had the lock down as well."

Sasuke remained silent. Kabuto had been one of the senior students involved in putting the barrier around the school. He was also one of the few allowed to know that the use of a magic wielder's blood would amplify any spell cast – including one to remove a powerful barrier. But whose blood had it been?

The sign of movement caught Sasuke's attention out of the corner of his eye. He turned, uncrossing his arms as Sakura sat up on the couch. Her eyes were wide and fearful as she looked from his eyes to his arm.

"What's happening to me?"

* * *

**Author's Note**: Bonus points for anyone who can tell me who Mizuki is! Anyway, I hope this chapter gave you all a lot more insight on what's going on – more will be revealed as Sakura is introduced to the "team" Sasuke and Naruto were on. This team, incidentally, is what Tenten referred to a few chapters back.

Yes, Sasuke has the Sharingan in this story – it's not his _only _power, but it's still a family trait like in the series. Kakashi also has the sharingan, thus the eye patch I mentioned in the first chapter.

The bad news: most chapters are going to be in Sakura's perspective, so some of the questions this chapter may have raised might not be answered right away. Like what Sasuke meant when the voice in his mind said perhaps he shouldn't have trusted Kakashi after all, or what happened to Itachi that he'd be so eager for information, etc.

Oh, and also, it was revealed what "scent" Sasuke had detected back in the first lockdown chapter – blood. More on that later, though! Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I know it was short too, but this was initially supposed to be attached to the LAST chapter, so... yeah, hehe. Don't forget to review!


	8. Welcome To Team Kakashi

**Author's Note**: I just wanted to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I love reading what people think, so it's always a pleasure to see a review sitting in my inbox when I check it in the morning.

For those who didn't guess, Mizuki is the character in the beginning of the series that convinced Naruto to steal the scroll and exposed the truth about Naruto and the nine-tails. What do you guys think, with all the allusions to the original series in this fanfiction, will that be significant to this story at all? Guess you'll have to wait and see!

I actually rewrote this chapter completely because I didn't like the first draft very much. I think I like this one a lot better, and hopefully you guys enjoy it as well. I tried to make it a bit longer, I'd like to progressively make chapters around at least 5000 words if possible. (I used to do that all the time, back in the day. xD )

* * *

**SHATTERED**

_A Girl Named Blessed_

CHAPTER EIGHT: Welcome to Team Kakashi

**KONOHA ACADEMY  
**_(The New) Student Handbook__  
_  
_Rule #4: Students are expected to maintain an average of at least sixty percent in all of their classes, and an overall grade point average of seventy percent. Should a student fail to meet these expectations, the school board will evaluate that student to determine whether or not they should be permitted to continue their education at Konoha Academy. _

* * *

Sakura's question hung in the air long after she had spoken. Her eyes flickered between Kakashi and Sasuke as she willed herself not to tremble, the sound of her heart's frantic beating echoing in her ears. Flashes of the evening's earlier events flew through her mind: Sasuke bleeding, collapsing, and then Sakura running desperately toward him, begging him to wake up. And then… agonizing pain, as she summoned a strength she hadn't known she'd possessed to heal him. _How had she done that?_

Finally Kakashi broke the silence that had fallen over them. "That's… a difficult question to answer." He looked at Sasuke before sighing. "I've never had to explain this sort of thing to anyone before, they've always just known."

"Known what?" Sakura asked quietly. "And… and Sasuke. Are… you alright?"

The dark haired teen nodded curtly.

Despite his refusal to look at her, Sakura sighed in relief. She turned back to Kakashi. "I want to know what's wrong with me. Please," she added, a hint of desperation leaking into her voice.

"Do you know what it is that you did?" Kakashi began, crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat. Sakura nodded tentatively.

"I… I healed the wounds on Sasuke."

Kakashi nodded, a trace of a smile beneath his mask as he continued. "Very good. And how is it that you think this was possible?"

Sakura bit down on her lip as she looked away. Did he honestly expect her to know how it was possible? Nearly everything Sakura knew came from the books she had studied so hard to get here in the first place. Making someone's skin grow back together at an alarming rate, without really doing anything, was unheard of. In the books Sakura had read merely for entertainment purposes, the only way such a thing could be described was…

"Magic." Sakura whispered, so quietly that she didn't think anyone would hear. It was impossible, it didn't exist – but it was the only explanation she had.

The look on Kakashi's face was enough to tell Sakura she'd guessed correctly.

"But I don't understand," Sakura pressed on. "Magic _isn't _real. It's all fairytales and legends, not reality, certainly not _my _reality."

"It is now."

Sakura's eyes widened as she chanced a peek at Sasuke. It was the first time he had spoken since she'd regained consciousness. Though he still wasn't looking at her, Sakura could see the seriousness in his expression. Truth or not, he believed what he was saying.

Sakura watched as Sasuke unfolded and then refolded his arms, looking at nothing in particular as he tapped a single finger against his arm – the same arm that had been gushing out blood the last time she saw him.

"What's going to happen?" Sakura finally questioned, her voice no longer shaking.

Kakashi rose from his chair and crossed the room to where Sakura was still sitting. He came to a stop in front of her and gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

"You're going to pay Tsunade a little visit," Kakashi said gently, giving her shoulder a small squeeze. "It seems she's been expecting this, so it's best not to keep her waiting. The sooner you can begin to understand, the sooner you can join my team."

From the corner of her eye, Sakura saw Sasuke narrow his eyes at this. "I'm not sure I understand," Sakura said slowly. "Team?"

"Yes," Kakashi responded cheerfully, straightening as he pulled his hand away from her. "It would seem that with Kabuto leaving, my team is short one man – or, er, woman. Having someone with the ability to heal on our squad would be very useful – I'm sure that Sasuke and Naruto would agree."

Sakura's eyes widened and she shot a look in Sasuke's direction. His tense posture and avoidance of meeting her gaze suggested otherwise, but Sakura decided that if he wasn't going to comment on it, neither would she.

_**A CHANCE TO GET TO KNOW SASUKE BETTER? HELL YEAH! **_Inner Sakura was screaming, fists pumping in the air. Her outer self inwardly sweat-dropped; while she wasn't _against _the notion of getting to know Sasuke better, she at least knew it was more serious than that. This wasn't just kids playing with magic – Sasuke's wound had been very real.

"Unless, of course, you have any objections?" Kakashi broke in, a single brow raised in question. Sakura thought of Ino, lying on a cot in the infirmary for days on end. She thought of Sasuke losing consciousness after that student – Kabuto – attacked him. It was all the convincing she needed.

"If I really have the power to heal people, I want to do everything I can." Sakura stated, rising to her feet. "It would be selfish of me to turn away."

"Good, very good," Kakashi smiled through his mask. He turned to look at the room's other occupant. "Sasuke."

The boy in question raised his gaze. "Yes?"

"Please take Sakura to see the Headmistress. Tell her that I want Sakura on _our _team, alright?"

Sasuke's frown deepened, but he nodded his head curtly before turning and walking out of Kakashi's office. Sakura stared at the now empty doorway, eyes blinking rapidly.

"That's Sasuke's way of saying he's going to Tsunade's office now," Kakashi divulged, eyes sparkling with amusement. "You might want to hurry up. She'll answer the rest of your questions."

Sakura nodded before running to catch up to Sasuke. She wasn't familiar with this area of the academy, so it didn't take long before she was lost. _No _sign of Sasuke.

"Gee, this is familiar," Sakura muttered.

"Hurry up."

Sakura shrieked as Sasuke suddenly appeared in front of her. He stared at her blankly before turning and walking away.

"Hey, wait!" Sakura called, quickening her steps. "What exactly is this _team _that Kakashi-sensei wants me to join, anyway?"

Sasuke glanced at her as she walked alongside him, but he said nothing. Sakura frowned.

"I said –"

"I heard you."

"Well?" Sakura pressed, hoping he was just thinking of how to explain and not blatantly ignoring her.

"Save your questions for Tsunade." Sasuke responded bluntly.

Sakura pursed her lips, slowing to a complete stop. Sasuke continued walking as though he hadn't noticed.

_Why does it seem like he hates me? _Sakura thought sadly, staring at his back. _I know he doesn't really seem to like _anyone, _but... he wrote that note to Ino. So what's wrong with me?_

Sakura reached into her pocket, holding the note in the center of her hand. Should she ask him about it?

"We're here." Sasuke said suddenly, raising his voice just enough so that Sakura could hear from where she was standing. Sakura began walking forward, pulling the note out of her pocket as she reached Sasuke.

Sasuke tapped on the oak doors with the back of his hand. There was some grumbling inside about how people didn't appreciate the fact that beauty sleep was _essential _for a woman before the door finally opened. Tsunade yawned into her hand.

"This better be good, Uchiha." Tsunade grumbled, wiping the sleep from her eyes. "Something happen on tonight's shift?"

Sakura felt a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips as she took in the Headmistress' appearance. Tsunade seemed to notice her presence for the first time, her expression suddenly sobering.

"So you finally came into your powers, huh?" Tsunade commented, arms crossing over her chest.

Sakura jammed the note back in her pocket before nodding her head. _Kakashi-sensei was right… Headmistress Tsunade expected this to happen all along. _

"What I don't understand is why you're here, Sasuke. Is there something I need to know?" Tsunade questioned, stepping aside for the pair to enter her office. Sakura began to walk in but paused when she realized Sasuke wasn't following her.

"Kakashi wants her on our team. He can fill you in later." In an instant he had vanished from sight.

Tsunade sighed. "That kid, I swear…" She rubbed the back of her neck as she closed the door to her office and walked over to her desk. She gestured at the seat in front of her and Sakura sat down obediently. "Tell me everything that happened."

* * *

"I should have trusted my instincts on that student," Tsunade muttered once Sakura had finished recounting the night's events. "I told the Headmaster last year that I didn't trust Kabuto, I never wanted him to be involved in putting up the protective barrier around the school and it seems it was for good reason. He was the one who brought Miss. Yamanaka to my office in the first place, claiming to have found her somewhere off school property."

Sakura froze, hands gripping the arms of the chair she was seated in. So the student that had attacked Sasuke was the same one that discovered Ino?

"Do you think he's the one that… did this to her?" Sakura asked quietly, looking down at her now white hands. She released the chair arms and placed her hands in her lap.

"I've suspected his involvement since you informed me that Ino left your room at three o'clock. Kabuto brought her here at exactly 3:05am, and his story of when and where he found her doesn't fit the timeline. His knowledge of poisons is probably great enough to rival my own and the odds are stacked against him."

Tsunade stood up and walked up to a door to the left of her office. Upon watching the Headmistress enter the other room, Sakura realized it must have been where Tsunade slept.

When the older woman returned, she had a heavy hardcover book clutched under her arm. Sakura eyed it curiously, her smarter side's interest piqued. Tsunade dropped it on her desk, paper scattering to the floor as a loud _thud _sounded.

"I want you to read this book, back to front," Tsunade instructed, easing back into her chair and stifling another yawn. "It's essential knowledge for us healers."

Sakura's eyes lit up. "Healers? Does that mean you can heal people too, Headmistress?"

"I wasn't the head nurse around here all these years for nothing," Tsunade remarked, a hint of a smirk finding it's way onto her face. "Anyway, whatever it is that's been bothering you, spit it out. It's late, and sleep is essential for me to maintain my youthful appearance."

Sakura found herself wondering if that statement was literal. She picked up the book from Tsunade's desk – which was, if possible, _heavier _than it looked – before speaking. "What really goes on here at the academy? The team that Kakashi-sensei wants me to join, this protective barrier you mentioned… what's it all for?"

"Wherever there's good, there is also evil – that's the way the world has always worked. You throw magic into the equation and things get a little more complicated. The academy, for the most part, is your regular private school for the bright and talented. But as you've obviously figured out, there's much more to it than that. The original founders of Konoha Academy were magic wielders such as us, and they used the school as a front to train their children to master their powers. The idea was that they'd be able to use their powers for good, and protect others that were in need, but of course that wasn't always how things turned out. These days, there's a lot more bad out there than good – and the majority of our students who attend this academy are just regular, average kids who don't know what we do to protect them." Tsunade paused, opening several of her desk drawers in search of something. She pulled out an unlabelled bottle and poured an amber liquid into a glass she seemed to summon out of nowhere.

"Why do they need protection?" Sakura asked, wrinkling her brows. "If they're just average students, why would anyone want to hurt them?"

"In order to keep the academy open, we need to maintain a certain number of students. Otherwise, the school board cuts off our funding, we lose the school and there's a ton of untrained kids wandering around just waiting to be manipulated by someone with less than good intentions. Having regular students here helps ensure that this doesn't happen, but by allowing them to attend_ this_ academy, we are putting them directly in danger." Tsunade paused, taking a large sip out of her glass before slamming it down on the desk again.

"So the teams…?" Sakura prompted.

"We're the only organization left that trains magic wielders to control their powers and use them for the well-being of others. Occasionally, neighbouring towns or cities will request our assistance. Because you're all just beginning to understand your powers, you are placed on teams to complete these tasks, as well as to patrol the area surrounding the school. We pride ourselves on keeping _all _of Konoha safe, not just our students. Now," Tsunade continued, draining her glass and standing, "I'm sure you have more questions, but I'm afraid that'll just have to wait. It's late, and trust me – _I need the sleep. _Report to Kakashi first thing tomorrow morning."

"I will," Sakura promised, rising to her feet and clutching the heavy textbook close to her chest.

Just as Sakura reached the doorway, Tsunade stopped her. "Sakura?"

Sakura turned around. "Yes?"

"You've shown great promise so far – it's no surprise Kakashi wants you on his team. When you finish that book, come back and see me. We'll discuss the specifics of your training then." Tsunade stretched her arms behind her head, walking over to her room.

Sakura smiled. "Good night, Headmistress."

As Sakura made her way back to her dorm room, she paused by the Infirmary and looked in through the window. Though the curtains were pulled over to shield most of Ino's form, the lower half of her body could still be made out from where Sakura stood.

_If Headmistress Tsunade can't figure out how to heal you, I will. I promise. _

Sakura walked away before she could see Ino's hand move.

* * *

_Not a single star could be seen lighting up the sky that evening; thick ominous clouds loomed overhead. Sakura had no idea where she was, and the darkness was everywhere – but despite this, __her legs swiftly carried her to her destination._

"_Why didn't you help me, Sakura?" Ino's voice demanded, coming from all directions. "Why are you running away? You promised you'd help me – you promised!"_

"_I can't!" Sakura cried, shutting her eyes tightly. "I'm not who you think I am, I can't do this – I can't!"_

"_Run, Sakura," Sasuke's voice cut in. "You don't belong here – you've never belonged here. I don't _want _you on my team, you'll only get in my way. Leave while you still can, before you get us killed."_

"_Don't listen to him, Sakura-chan!" Naruto urged, his face swimming before her as Sakura tripped and fell to the ground. "We need you, you have to stay, you just have to!"_

_Sakura held her head in her hands, a sob escaping from her throat as she tried to block out the voices. "I can't," she cried. "I can't do this, Sasuke's right, I don't belong and I never will!" _

"_You have to stay!" Naruto pleaded. "If you don't... if you leave us..." _

_Kabuto's face flashed before her mind's eye, his earlier words echoing in her head: __"Some day, Sasuke, you'll follow the same path I've chosen."_

_Sakura lifted her face from her hands and turned to see Sasuke standing over her, his eyes glowing red. _

"_You should have left while you still had the chance," he whispered, raising his hand as it slowly became engulfed by fire. "You should have left."_

Sakura sat up, a bead of sweat rolling down her forehead. Throwing the covers to the floor, she tried to forget her dream. It would do her no good to get caught up psychoanalyzing the little details when it was probably just her nerves making her imagination work overtime. She had to shower, get dressed, and report to Kakashi-sensei straight away.

It wasn't very long before she was standing outside of Kakashi's office, hand frozen a few inches from the door. She had been prepared to knock when she heard voices within.

"_Hey Kakashi-sensei, what did you call us here for so early in the morning? The teme said you had something important to discuss," _a familiar voice (Sakura quickly identified it as Naruto) asked.

"_I do, but first we have to wait for our guest of honour to arrive. She should be here any minute now."_

Kakashi's voice that time – did that mean Sasuke was there as well? Sakura took a deep breath, knowing that it was pointless to put this off any longer. She knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Sakura opened the door and closed it quietly behind her. To say that Naruto had been surprised to see _her _standing there would have been an understatement – his eyes were wide, mouth hanging open.

Quickly scanning the room, Sakura found Sasuke leaning against the wall off to the side. His arms were crossed, and though his eyes flickered toward her once as she entered, he didn't acknowledge her in any other way.

"Ah, good morning Sakura, glad you could make it. I trust you slept well?" Kakashi asked good-naturedly, the crinkles in his mask indicating that he was smiling.

Was it possible he knew about her dream? _No, _Sakura decided. _He's just making conversation._

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura responded slowly. She glanced at Naruto, whose mouth was still hanging open. For the first time, she found herself wondering what sort of powers he and Sasuke had.

"Good, good. I guess there's no point in beating around the bush, so I'll just say it: welcome to Team Kakashi."

* * *

**Author's Note**: Okay, so I know this one was a bit dialogue-heavy in spots, but I felt it was necessary to explain not only to Sakura, but to everyone reading this fanfiction what's going on at the academy and more of its true purpose. More will be revealed on that as time goes on, but I thought it was about time everyone got some answers so that we can get things rolling!

Like I said in the beginning author's notes, I'd like to work on making the chapters a more reasonable length. I never realize how short they actually are until I preview them on the site.

Don't forget to review, let me know what you think of this chapter!


	9. Operation Teamwork

**Author's Note**: It wasn't hard for me to tell that I was tired when I uploaded the last chapter – I forgot to respond to anonymous reviews, I uploaded it without editing the document to place in my headers, you name it. That could have been embarrassing if I was too tired to even notice, since I might not have fixed it in time, hehe. Any anonymous reviews from chapter seven were responded to at the end of this one, as well as anonymous reviews for chapter eight.

Just to answer some questions that were raised that I think might interest others: I AM planning on incorporating normal enemies from the series into this fanfiction, in one way or another. I haven't yet decided what I'm doing with the Akatsuki, but I'm planning on them being in this story at some point. And as for the SasuSaku fluff, it'll be a slow progressive relationship _but _I've got plenty of cute things planned along the way, hopefully from this chapter onwards.

Also, sorry this chapter was late. I've had the idea for a new story in my head for awhile and it just wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote the first chapter. It's not completed yet (thus why it's not uploaded to the site at the moment) _but _it helped me get over my block with certain aspects of this chapter and that's what matters. x)

* * *

**SHATTERED**

_A Girl Named Blessed_

CHAPTER NINE: Operation Teamwork

**KONOHA ACADEMY**

_(The New) Student Handbook_

_Rule #3: Students are required to wear their school uniform at all times during classes, assemblies, class trips and events unless stated otherwise. _

* * *

It took several minutes to explain to a very confused Naruto just what exactly was going on – something Sakura left up to their teacher, as she squirmed uncomfortably under the blonde haired boy's gaze. Once Naruto was finally convinced that, no, this was _not _a dream where he was suddenly going to find himself standing in his underwear (Sakura cracked a small smile at this), he grinned brightly at his newest team mate.

"Guess this means we'll be spending a lot more time together, huh Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, rubbing the back of his head. "Now I won't have to keep stuff from you anymore! But hang on a sec," Naruto said suddenly, frowning. "If you can do magic too, why couldn't we sense it sooner?"

"Her powers only awakened last night," Kakashi broke in, leaning against the front of his desk. "For some reason, they were a little... late."

"Late?" Sakura repeated. "_How _late?" It felt like hitting puberty all over again, and Sakura blushed at the memory – was she always going to be a late bloomer in everything?

"Your powers should have awoken when you were eight or nine years old at the latest," Kakashi informed her, crossing his arms. "I don't think I've ever heard of a case where it's happened past thirteen."

_Great, _Sakura thought darkly, feeling her cheeks warm.

"But I wouldn't worry about that. Judging by the way you healed Sasuke last night, your powers haven't been hindered any."

Though she felt a little comforted by Kakashi's words, she wasn't entirely sure she believed him. Waking up this morning she hadn't felt the least bit different, save for the after effects of that strange dream that had woken her up in the first place.

"So Kakashi-sensei," Naruto began, moving from foot to foot, "did you call us here just to tell us that Sakura would be our new team mate?"

Kakashi pushed himself up off of his desk and walked over to where the three students were standing. He looked at them all for a moment before speaking. "Not exactly, Naruto. I have a mission for the three of you, one that takes priority over everything else."

At these words, Sasuke tilted his head slightly until he was looking at their teacher. Naruto's eyes lit up as his arms fell to his side, but all Sakura could feel was a heavy weight settling in the pit of her stomach.

"Your mission is..."

"Yeah, yeah!" Naruto urged excitedly.

"...to spend the day..."

The corner of Sasuke's mouth lifted slightly.

"...getting to know each other better."

Sakura let out a small sigh of relief. Sasuke glared at her while Naruto sank down to his knees on the floor.

"That's it?" Naruto wailed.

"That's it," Kakashi confirmed. "It's crucial that the three of you can get along and understand each other a little better. Otherwise, you could get yourselves killed. Oh, and I'll know if you've failed to do as I asked. Just remember what happened the last time."

Colour drained from both boys faces, Naruto's eyes growing larger than saucers. Sakura didn't know what had happened the first time around, and she wasn't sure she wanted to.

* * *

The new Team Kakashi strolled through the quiet street located just outside of the academy. Naruto stood in the middle, his hands behind his head as he happily told Sakura about the first mission he ever went on. Sasuke stood on the other side of him, hands stuffed in his pockets as he looked off to the side, expression blank.

"…so then," Naruto continued, an even larger grin forming, "Sasuke tries to show off and act all badass, right, only I had went to do the same thing and we collided. We both fell on our asses and Kakashi-sensei just shook his head like he thought we were a bunch of morons."

"_One_ of us was," Sasuke muttered darkly, breaking his unspoken vow of silence.

Naruto continued as though he hadn't heard. "Anyway, so the guy we were trying to stop just looks at us like he doesn't know _what _to think, and then he starts laughing – _laughing! _At _us!_"

Sakura smiled at the indignant expression on Naruto's face as he waved his hands through the air. "And then what happened?"

A slight breeze blew against Sakura's face, sweeping her pink locks back out of her eyes. The air felt cool against her skin, and she rubbed her arms as her skin prickled. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Naruto's grin had returned.

"What?" Sakura asked, hands dropping to her sides as she came to a stop. Was there something on her face?

"_Cut it out, _dobe," Sasuke warned, clenching his jaw.

"Oh, lighten up, Sasuke," Naruto replied, shoving the other boy good-naturedly. "Learn to live a little!"

Sakura watched this exchange, brows raised before speaking. "Am I missing something?"

"Just watch," Naruto exclaimed, pointing at the park a few feet ahead of them. Sakura leaned to the side to look past Naruto and saw a group of girls standing together at the park entrance. The cool breeze that Sakura had felt brush against her skin was gone, replaced by the heat of the blazing sun.

Just as Sakura was about to ask Naruto what _exactly _it was that she was supposed to watch, a gust of wind blew past the girls at the park entrance, blowing their skirts up. The girls squealed, quickly rushing to hold the material of their skirts down before anything could be revealed to any nearby spectators.

It took Sakura three seconds to realize that Naruto was the one responsible. While her inner self was shrieking about how _cool _it was that Naruto could somehow manipulate the air around them, her outer self was disgusted.

"_PERVERT!" _Sakura shouted, slapping the back of Naruto's head. "Was that supposed to impress me?"

Naruto grumbled to himself as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Serves you _right," _Sakura said, crossing her arms. "I'm not a _boy, _you know. Have a little class!"

"But you asked–"

"About what happened next, not for you to give me a demonstration like _that!"_

"I thought you'd think it was–"

"_DISGUSTING!"_

* * *

Sasuke rubbed his temples, feeling the pain of an oncoming headache settle in. It had taken several minutes before Sakura stopped shouting at Naruto, though she still muttered from time to time about how she was teamed up with a pervert.

Naruto, on the other hand, still looked confused as to what it was he had done that was so _wrong_ – his lack of experience with the fairer sex showing. Not that Sasuke had much more experience with women – actually he probably had less – but he also wasn't a moron.

The lecture he had been planning about how Naruto wasn't supposed to use his powers out in public (which consisted of six words at best) was pushed aside. Sasuke didn't feel like conversing more than what he deemed necessary, and frankly he just wanted the day to hurry up and _end _already.

It wasn't that he hated Sakura – actually, he was rather indifferent towards her. No, it was that _look _she gave him when she thought he wasn't looking. The hopeful yet hesitant smile, the shining eyes: it was the same _awestruck _look girls like Ino Yamanaka and Yori Takata had been giving him every day since they first laid eyes on him.

"Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke glanced at the pink haired girl standing beside him, noticing for the first time that Naruto had run off somewhere. A quick scan of their surroundings showed him that Naruto was standing outside of an ice cream cart, eagerly browsing the selections.

Choosing to ignore his female teammate, Sasuke walked over to a park bench and sat down. Knowing Naruto, it would be awhile before they continued walking.

Sakura turned towards Naruto as if she was planning on joining him, before she seemed to change her mind. Slowly she walked towards Sasuke.

"You never say anything to me," Sakura commented after awhile, standing in front of Sasuke and looking down at her feet. "At first I thought it was because you hated me, but I finally realized that's just the type of person you are."

_Fast learner. _

"It's just… we're on the same team now. Naruto and I, well… I guess we're already friends. I'm sure we won't have a hard time working side by side. But you and I…" Sakura trailed off, raising her eyes to meet Sasuke's.

Sasuke looked away. "If you're concerned that it'll be a problem, don't."

Sakura tensed, her eyes widening for a moment before a sad smile graced her lips. "If you say so, Sasuke-kun." She turned to walk away, but hesitated at the last moment. "I… don't think that you're weak at all."

With that, Sakura ran over to join Naruto. Sasuke stared after her in confusion, allowing her words to sink in as he tried to decipher their meaning. When had anyone said anything about him being weak? And when had she started calling him Sasuke-_kun? _

Kabuto's words about Itachi floated to the surface of his mind, and Sasuke realized that Sakura must have heard part of his conversation with Kabuto that night. _Yet she never asked me about Itachi. _

Sasuke watched as Naruto got down on his hands and knees in front of Sakura, his wallet lying on the ground beside him turned inside out. Sakura rolled her eyes before turning to the vendor and giving him money. The vendor handed her two ice cream cones – one of which she gave to Naruto, who seemed to be thanking her quite enthusiastically – and a plastic cup filled with ice and, Sasuke presumed, water.

The two walked back over to Sasuke, Naruto eagerly licking his chocolate ice cream cone. Sakura offered the plastic cup to Sasuke.

"Here. It's important to keep hydrated when you're walking around like this in the sun."

Sasuke looked at the cup, and hesitantly took it. Sakura smiled before sitting down on the other end of the park bench. Naruto plopped down in the middle section, already working on eating his cone as ice cream trickled down his hand.

Maybe, Sasuke thought, things wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

It was early evening when Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke returned to the Academy. Kakashi was leaning against the gate, the latest copy of the _Icha Icha _series opened in front of his face. Without tearing his gaze away from his book, he lifted a hand to greet them.

"Glad to see you took my words to heart," Kakashi said. "I hope you all studied."

"S-studied?" Naruto said, falling to his knees. _"STUDIED FOR WHAT?"_

"The test, of course," Kakashi answered, turning the page of his book. "What was the point of today again?"

"…to get to know each other." Sakura responded slowly.

Kakashi beamed at Sakura, closing his book. "Precisely. Now, there are twenty questions–"

"TWENTY QUESTIONS?" Naruto cried.

"– _per person, _so forty questions total. You must answer _every question correct, _or it will reflect on your grades in my class. Do we understand?"

Sakura froze, mouth hanging open. They were going to be tested on how well they had gotten to _know _each other? What did that have to do with math? _**NOTHING! **_Inner Sakura screeched, pulling her hair out. _**There was nothing mathematic about today at all! Well except maybe counting out change whenever I bought something... BUT THAT DOESN'T COUNT!**_

"But – I mean – it's not like we asked for each others life stories or anything," Sakura protested. She felt her cheeks warm as she realized she had just talked back to a teacher for the first time.

"No? So what exactly _did _you do?" Kakashi asked sternly, crossing his arms.

Sakura thought back to the earlier events of the day. At one point, Naruto had offered to help an elderly lady with her groceries only to be chased down the street as the woman hurled accusations at him. It had taken a very apologetic Sakura to explain that Naruto was _not _trying to steal the woman's purse – or her food, for that matter. During all of this Sasuke had only followed casually behind them, acting as though this were a normal occurrence (and one beneath him at that).

"We... walked around," Sakura responded lamely, shrugging her shoulders.

"'Walked around?'" Kakashi repeated.

"Yeah, you know... hung out, ate food!" Naruto added. "We had ice cream–"

"Except for Sasuke-kun," Sakura cut in. "He doesn't like sweets." She didn't notice Sasuke's head turn towards her in surprise.

Naruto nodded. "Right – although how anyone can _not _like sugar... anyway, then we went to go see a movie, except they were sold out of the one we wanted to see and _somebody _was being a jerk and wouldn't go see the other movie that was playing–"

"I don't do talking animals." Sasuke retorted.

"_WHAT'S WRONG WITH TALKING ANIMALS, HUH?"_

"I already have to _live _with one."

Sakura quickly grabbed Naruto's arms and held him back as he moved to hit Sasuke. "Naruto, _calm down! _He was just joking. Right, Sasuke-kun?"

When Sasuke didn't answer, Naruto pulled out of Sakura's grasp and ran toward the dark haired teen, fist swinging forward. Sasuke disappeared and reappeared on top of the stone wall.

"You'll have to be quicker than that, dobe."

This time it was Kakashi that stopped Naruto. He waited until the blonde had calmed down and Sasuke had jumped down to join them again before releasing Naruto.

"Go back to your dorms," Kakashi told them, pulling his book back out again. Just as he turned to walk away, he looked at them over his shoulder. "Oh and by the way? You passed."

Sakura stared at their teacher as he walked away.

"So wait – there wasn't actually a test?" Naruto asked.

"That _was _the test, idiot," Sasuke replied, pushing past him.

As Sasuke walked up to the academy entrance, Naruto turned to Sakura. "But I don't get it. What did that prove?"

Sakura smiled. "Kakashi-sensei just wanted to know that we really did spend the day together – he wanted to be sure that we could get along. If we had _actually _been able to answer twenty questions about each other, he would have suspected that we'd planned it out from the start. He knows his students."

"Heh, I guess he does," Naruto said sheepishly. "So, uh, Sakura... do you want to hang out for a bit?"

"Actually Naruto, there's something I want to do first. Maybe next time, okay?"

"Sure, no problem," Naruto said. "I should go find Sasuke anyway – I still have to get back at him for calling me a talking animal. I mean, it's not my fault he's such a neat freak, and he definitely didn't learn it from Kakashi-sensei, because he can be just as messy as me."

"Why would Sasuke have learned it from Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh! Uh, well... you see... gotta run!"

"_NARUTO UZUMAKI, GET BACK HERE!"_

Unfortunately for Sakura, Naruto knew how to make himself disappear – literally. Sighing, Sakura decided that she'd question him tomorrow. Right now, she was on a mission of her own.

* * *

Sakura ran her hand along the cold metal rails of Ino's hospital bed. She knew she shouldn't be in here, but she had to see her roommate. Sakura felt certain that the longer Ino was in this state, the harder it would be to bring her out – even if Tsunade believed Ino was not in any danger.

The night before Sakura had flipped through the textbook Tsunade had given her, searching for any kind of clue that might help Ino wake up. Obviously, she had found nothing – if there had been any important information in the book, Sakura was certain that Tsunade would have already healed Ino. Despite this, Sakura found herself standing next to Ino's bed, one hand gently pressed against the blonde girl's forehead.

It had been her desperation to save Sasuke that had awakened her powers, and so far that had been the only time she was able to use her powers. Perhaps, if she experienced that same desperation, she'd be able to do something for her friend.

"I had wondered when you'd think to come here," a familiar voice commented. Sakura spun around and saw Tsunade standing there, one hand on her hip as she examined the nails on her other hand casually. "I admit, I thought your powers would awaken when you saw Ino Yamanaka in the Infirmary here the first time – I never expected that it would be Sasuke Uchiha that would bring out your powers. I suppose it shouldn't have come as a surprise, though – the kid's pretty popular with the ladies. I guess the silent mysterious type is still what girls your age find interesting?"

Sakura cleared her throat, feeling her entire face grow warmer. "Yeah, well, I saw Sasuke-kun get attacked. The circumstance was completely different."

"Of course," Tsunade responded, though she didn't sound as if she believed Sakura in the least. "Just remember – that same person who attacked your teammate is our primary suspect in Miss Yamanaka's poisoning, and he's still at large."

"I know," Sakura whispered. "I – I want to help Ino, but I don't know what to do. I haven't been able to do anything with my powers since last night. I tried, but I just can't."

Tsunade nodded, not seeming at all surprised. "Your powers are just manifesting. You don't have control over them yet, and you probably won't for awhile. That's why it's crucial for you to finish that book I gave you last night. Once you understand the basics, I can teach you how to control your magic and tap into your element – if you have one."

"My element?"

"Some of the more gifted students – like your teammates – have a natural affinity for magic of a certain element. Others simply have specific gifts passed down through the generations of their family. I can't say for sure but my bet is that you'll be like your teammates."

Sakura sat down in the chair next to Ino's bed, looking at her hands in her lap. Naruto's element was probably wind – but what about Sasuke's?

"What's Sasuke-kun's element?"

Tsunade quirked an eyebrow, a bemused smile on her face. "Curious, are we?"

Sakura frowned. "Isn't it important to understand my teammates abilities? I already know Naruto's element." She felt thankful that Tsunade had not yet turned on the lights in the infirmary – her flaming cheeks would hopefully go unnoticed. _Geez, it's bad enough Naruto teases me about Sasuke-kun. _

"You seem to have a knack for defending yourself," Tsunade commented dryly. "Since I'm actually starting to like you, I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you that Sasuke's element is fire – runs in his family."

Sakura's dream from that morning flashed before her as she remembered Sasuke's eyes turning crimson and his hand being engulfed in flames. _It has to be a coincidence, _Sakura decided. _Even with magic being real, there has to be a line somewhere for where reality ends and fantasy begins. _

"And what makes you so sure that I'll be like Sasuke and Naruto?" Sakura asked, turning to look at the Headmistress.

Tsunade averted her eyes, the smile on her face slowly falling away. "Let's just say the three of you remind me of some kids I… once knew."

Silence fell over them. Sakura could see the melancholy look in Tsunade's eyes, but she felt unsure of what she should say.

The decision was made for her when Tsunade straightened her posture and walked over to the infirmary door. She slid it open and paused, looking over her shoulder.

"You shouldn't stay here much longer. I know you want to help your friend, but right now you're useless to her until you learn to control your powers. What happened that night with Sasuke Uchiha was a fluke, a surge of emotion controlling your actions. I doubt it'll happen again." With that, Tsunade walked out and slid the door shut.

Sakura clenched her fists. She knew that it was silly of her to believe she might be able to help Ino where Tsunade – a far more experienced Healer – had not. But sitting in her room, flipping through a book… maybe it would help more in the long run but it felt as though she was sitting by doing nothing.

_"__Why didn't you help me, Sakura? Why are you running away? You promised you'd help me – you promised!"_

"I know," Sakura whispered, remembering the words Ino had spoken in her dream. "I won't run away, I'm staying right here by your side but even still, I… I just… I just can't…" Sakura choked back a sob, feeling completely and utterly useless. _I can heal a guy I barely even know, but I can't help the first friend I ever made at this school. _

A ringing noise reverberated in Sakura's ears, though she couldn't see the source anywhere. The insides of her head felt like pins and needles were exploding in all directions, trying to poke their way out of her skull.

As the pain subsided, Sakura knew what she had to do.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Bah, I had a hard time deciding what to do with Sakura and her whole "Sasuke-kun" habit. In the beginning of this story, she always referred to him as just Sasuke (except for that one time before she healed him), and I didn't know if it would make sense for her to suddenly start calling him Sasuke-kun. But then I thought about how Naruto already called Sakura, Sakura-chan, and I knew I couldn't just leave it out _completely. _So I decided, she's going to start calling him Sasuke-kun as a way to try and feel closer to him now that they're teammates. I know next to _nothing _about these suffixes, so I don't know if that even makes sense… but whatever. It's what I'm going with. xD

Also, _there is a reason _Sakura continues to feel pain when she uses her powers. It'll be revealed down the road a bit.

**Edit:** So apparently some of my words got cut out of the last chapter in the uploading process... no idea what caused that, since they were there when I saved, but whatever. Fixed it now. ;)

**Anonymous Reviews**:

_Kurosuna no Emiii_ – Sorry I didn't respond to this last chapter! I completely blanked on adding anonymous review responses at the bottom. You got it right about Mizuki! And yes, having a puppy has definitely helped a lot! My grandmother passing wasn't at all unexpected, but she was my last living grandparent so that was a lot of what hit hard.

_Artistgirl_– I'm glad you're enjoying the story so much! I try to make it as intriguing as possible, since I know that's the kind of stories I like reading (and it keeps people interested) – but I wasn't sure if I was succeeding or not. So it's good to know that it's working.

Now, I've said in the past that I'm the type of person who likes throwing in the cute little fluff scenes and having the romance gradually grow over longer periods of time, so the answer to your question depends on the kind of fluff. I have some small things planned in the immediate future, but things like kissing, holding hands, acknowledgment of feelings… that probably won't be for a little while yet.

HOWEVER: I love fluff of every kind, and I can honestly say that I have sketched out dozens of little things I want to happen between Sasuke and Sakura throughout the course of the story. Once he gets a little more used to her being around, and not so "I'm going to send you DEATH GLARES OF DOOM until you Go. AWAY." Like he currently is – then things will pick up a little more. xD


	10. It's All In Your Head Part 1

**Author****'****s ****Note**: I just wanted to apologize for not updating this fanfiction in so long. Leaving it sit for several months was never my intention, but unfortunately circumstances in my personal life got in the way, and to be perfectly honest writing of any sort was the furthest thing from my mind since I had a lot of things to try and work out. Excuses and such aside, I'm going to be having a lot more time on my hands this year than I originally anticipated, so updates should become regular again.

Thanks so much for all the reviews, favourites, and story/author alerts! It means a lot that so many people are enjoying this story, especially because this story is really helping me get back into the swing of things with writing. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter, it's a little different from the previous ones and Ino's character is going to seem SO – DIFFERENT. It's intentional, I promise, and you'll probably see what I mean as you go along, but if not, just go with it for now and trust that all will be explained.

* * *

**SHATTERED**

_A Girl Named Blessed_

CHAPTER TEN: All In Your Head Part I

**KONOHA ACADEMY**

_(The New) Student Handbook_

_Rule #5: Students are expected to respect their superiors regardless of the circumstance._

* * *

The dense fog that Sakura had felt surrounding Ino's body when she first came to visit was suddenly visible, swirling as it steadily grew darker. _So__ it __wasn__'__t__ just__ my __imagination __that __day__… _

Sakura felt a twinge of uneasiness settle into the pit of her stomach. It wasn't Ino's body that had been poisoned – _it__ was __her __mind._ Though Sakura wasn't sure how it was even possible for her to know this, she could feel deep down that she was right.

Throwing all rational thought out the window, Sakura reached out and placed her hand on Ino's forehead. The moment her palm made contact with Ino's flesh, everything faded to black and the only thing Sakura had time to process was that she was _falling_, and instead of quickly hitting the tile floor of the infirmary that had only been a few feet down she was met with only empty air.

* * *

"This is ridiculous," Tsunade shouted, slamming her fist down on her desk. "How can you expect me to stand by while one of my students is slowly losing their minds? I've put up with your idiocy for more than long enough. Sakura is not _strong__ enough_ to perform this task – you can't just use a teenage girl as a test subject! How does this make us any better than Orochimaru?"

"You don't have any other choice, Tsunade. Don't forget your place – Hiruzen Sarutobi may have made you Headmistress of this academy in his place, but I've been appointed your superior by the school board. I will replace you if you interfere – and I can promise that your replacement will be someone far more agreeable."

Tsunade tensed, arms dropping to her sides as she clenched her fists. She may have had a history of bad bets in the past, but there were still times she knew when she was beat – and right now, she was backed into a corner with no alternative. _Damn __that __bastard._

"Have it your way, Danzo," Tsunade said, forcing calm into her voice. "But the moment I think Sakura and Ino have reached their limit, _I__ am __pulling __them__ out._ I don't care what you or the board has to say, I will not allow you to sacrifice my students for whatever game you're playing."

"Oh, I'd hardly sacrifice children for a _game,_ Tsunade. As I said when we first learned the Yamanaka girl's mind had been attacked, this is a test of Sakura Haruno's abilities. A case such as hers only exists in Orochimaru's test subjects."

"You and I both know that Mizuki said she showed signs of having powers at an early age–"

" – and then they mysteriously vanished, only to return the same night Sasuke Uchiha was attacked by Kabuto. And I suppose it was just coincidence that she was somehow able to heal him?"

Tsunade gripped the edge of her desk, her strength causing her to leave indentations in the hard wood. "She _obviously _feels affectionate towards the boy…"

"Be that as it may, we're still dealing with the repercussions of a spy remaining undetected in our midst. We can't take any chances."

Tsunade sighed, sinking down into her chair. "What do you expect to learn from this? Either Sakura is successful and you think she's trying to earn our trust, or she fails miserably and you think she's holding out because Orochimaru has something else planned. Regardless of the outcome, your suspicions will not change."

"Perhaps not," Danzo admitted, "but then again, that's not your concern. I only came here to remind you the consequences should you interfere."

Before Tsunade could respond, Danzo's image faded away from her office.

Standing, Tsunade walked over to the full length mirror she had hanging on her office wall. Looking at her reflection, she twisted the strands of her now silver hair, eyes taking in the wrinkles that had destroyed her beautiful face over the years. Only Tsunade could see how she _truly _looked beneath the illusion she had cast.

Eyes darkening, Tsunade slammed her fist into the wall. She had let herself be manipulated – and now it was quite possible that two of her students would forever be trapped in their own minds, never waking, yet never sleeping, and never being able to truly live again.

* * *

Sakura didn't know how long she had been falling, watching as fragments of Ino's life flashed before her. It felt like an eternity before she finally landed with a loud _smack _against the hard ground.

As Sakura struggled to lift herself up, a tiny hand was suddenly extended towards her. Sakura's eyes trailed up only to be met by the grinning face of what appeared to be a five year old Ino Yamanaka.

"Silly, what are you doing down there?" Ino asked, tilting her head to the side and closing her eyes briefly as she pulled back her hand. "You'll get your clothes all dirty!"

Sakura stared, unable to stop her mouth from falling open. It took her several moments to compose herself and rise to her feet. Observing their surroundings revealed that they were standing in a meadow somewhere. For a moment, there was complete silence, until the wind picked up and rustled the leaves of the nearby trees.

Finally, Sakura found her voice. "I tripped over something back there – I can be pretty clumsy at times. My name is Sakura – what's yours?"

"I'm Ino Yamanaka! Do you want to help me pick flowers?"

Sakura glanced at the small bouquet of wildflowers that Ino was holding. For the first time since deciding to take it upon herself to help Ino, Sakura found herself wondering just _how _exactly it was she intended to do that.

"It's okay if you don't want to," little Ino said, her voice suddenly very quiet. "My mommy doesn't like picking flowers with me either. I think it's 'cause she doesn't like me anymore, that's why she stays in her room all day long. Daddy says that's not why, he says it's because she's scared, but why would she be scared? Daddy can protect us from anything."

Sakura knelt down next to Ino's withdrawn form, giving the young child a sad smile. "Of course he can," Sakura soothed. "And I would _love _to pick flowers with you."

"Really?" Ino exclaimed, a large smile already forming on her face as she looked up from the ground. "Come on, come on – there's some really pretty lilies over here."

Ino ran across the field over to the patch of wild lilies, sinking down to her knees and inspecting each flower.

Sakura smiled, following casually behind. It was strange seeing Ino as a child when she'd only ever known her as a teenager. Though there were some obvious differences between this memory of Ino and the Ino that Sakura knew, it was easy to see this was her roommate. They had the same bright blue eyes that sparked with life and excitement, the same sideways grin when they were happy.

"These flowers are for my mommy," Ino decided, picking out a lily for her bouquet. "She loves lilies. I bet if I give her a bouquet, she'll forgive me and she'll like me again."

"She already does like you, Ino. She's your mommy – mommies always love their daughters no matter what." Sakura sat down next to the five year old, crossing her legs.

"That's what daddy said too, but I know it's not true with my mommy. She shouts at me when I try to get her to come out of her room to play with me, and she breaks things all the time. And whenever I try to open the curtains, she screams and screams that _he'll_ find us. And see this?" Ino held out her arm, turning it over so that Sakura could see the underside of it and the dark indentations in the shape of fingers wrapped tightly around the little girl's wrist.

"What happened?" Sakura asked softly, reaching out to touch the marks.

"I went to open the curtains, but they fell down off the window. Mommy grabbed my arm and told me to get out, but she was so angry and scared that her magic came out and burned me. Daddy told me to go play outside, so that's why I came here. It was an accident though, I swear! Mommy used to love going outside when it was bright and sunny, so I thought she'd like the curtains open. I just wanted her to be happy again."

Sakura's smile faded as she looked at Ino's tear streaked face. "She will be," Sakura promised, voice catching in her throat. "Sometimes… sometimes we do strange things when we're sad, or scared. But at the end of the day," Sakura continued, reaching out and grabbing Ino's wrist gently in her own hands, "what we need most are the people we love." The burn marks slowly began to fade away, until soon there was nothing left.

Ino's eyes widened with awe. "You can do magic too!"

"Sometimes," Sakura admitted, "but I still can't control when it happens."

"I can't control mine yet either," Ino huffed, bottom lip jutting out. "Daddy said it took him years to master, 'cause our kind of magic is harder than most. But I don't want to wait years; I want to control it now!"

"What do you mean by 'our kind of magic'?" Sakura asked curiously.

Ino set her bouquet gently on the ground before sitting up. "'Each family has their own special power that only they can control,'" Ino recited. "Daddy says our family's magic involves the mind. That's why sometimes I hear things that people don't say out loud, or why the toy store owner sometimes gives me a toy I really, really want without me asking."

The colour drained from Sakura's face. "Y-you can read people's thoughts? Any thoughts at all?" _If__ Ino __could__ do__ that __when __she __was__ just__ a__ little __kid, __I__ don__'__t__ even __want__ to__ think__ about __what __she __could __do__ now._

Ino giggled. "You sounded nervous, _Sa-ku-ra._ But you don't have anything to be nervous about, I can't control my powers, remember? So even if I wanted to read your mind, I wouldn't be able to. Besides, daddy says it takes a lot of energy to really look into someone's mind, because people have a natural barrier that keeps their thoughts safe. It's dangerous because we have to weaken the barriers around our own minds and that makes us vulnerable."

"You seem to know a lot about it," Sakura commented. "Don't you find it all a little… scary?"

"Do _you?__" _Ino retorted.

Sakura felt her cheeks heat up. "I… of course not."

"My mommy taught me a lot about the dangers of having special powers and being vulnerable. She doesn't have mind powers like me and daddy, but she still knew enough to teach me a little. She taught me that we're always in danger, because there are bad people who want to use our powers and take them from us. Daddy got mad at her for telling me that, he said I was too little and she'd only scare me." Ino kicked off her sandals, wiggling her toes, looking as though she were talking about stuffed animals instead of magic and danger.

"She must have realized how brave you really are," Sakura said softly. "Daddies always want to protect their little girls from everything, but mommies… they know us better. We're just like they were."

For a while, everything fell silent. Ino looked out across the field, as though she were watching something in the distance that only she could see. When she finally turned her gaze back to Sakura, she had a small smile on her face that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Let's pick more flowers for my mommy's bouquet, okay?"

"Okay."

As Sakura turned her back to pick a flower, Ino's eyes narrowed and the smile on her face grew.

* * *

Time seemed to pass slowly, as though it had stopped completely. The cool wind that had once been a welcome guest, blowing gently through Sakura's pink locks, had long since disappeared. The sun beat down on her, causing perspiration to roll down the back of her neck as she carefully selected another flower for Ino's ever-growing bouquet.

Somehow in the hour that had passed, Sakura had wound up being the only one to actually pick any flowers. The younger version of her roommate was leaning back, one hand holding her up as the other held on delicately to a vanilla ice cream cone that she had made appear some time ago. Her baby blue eyes watched Sakura's motions like a hawk, eyes narrowing slightly whenever the oldest of the two stopped moving for too long or reached for a flower Ino didn't want.

"You can't pick _that _one," Ino scolded suddenly. "It means _death._ The bouquet is supposed to be for my mommy. Do you want my mommy to _die, _Sakura?"

Sakura blanched. "I'm sorry, I… I didn't realize."

"Then perhaps you should pay closer attention, silly."

Though Ino's voice had returned to its regular high pitched child-like tone, there was something very wrong with her sudden behaviour. Gone was the frightened five year old that Sakura had first met, replaced by a little girl who seemed much older than her physical appearance and who seemed to take pleasure in intimidation.

_Something__'__s __not __right, _Sakura thought, turning away from Ino to pick a different flower. _She __seems__ so __different__ all__ of __a__ sudden__… __could __this __memory __have __been __twisted __by__ the__ poison?_

"Sa-ku-ra," Ino called in a singsong voice. "What are you thinking, Sakura?"

"Just… trying to remember the different flower meanings from a science class I had once," Sakura responded, willing her voice not to give anything away. _I__ have __to__ do__ something now, _Sakura realized. _This __isn__'__t__ the __real __Ino__ – __no __five __year__ old __could__ really__ be__ like__ this._

"Oh, is that what you're thinking? You're not thinking that something's wrong with me? That I'm not _right,_ that I seem different – twisted, even?"

Sakura swallowed slowly. "No, I wouldn't think something like–"

"You're _lying!__" _Ino shouted, the ice cream cone disappearing as she rose to her feet. "You're a liar, Sakura Haruno! I'm not stupid, you know. This is _my _mind you're in, which means we're already connected. I've been able to read every single thought in your little head this whole time. I don't even have to try." Ino crossed her arms, smiling smugly.

Sakura stared back, heart pounding in her ears as she tried not to let her expression change. "Then you know why I'm here. I just want to help you, Ino. The _real_ you. You can't stay locked up in your mind for the rest of your life, you have to come back to reality." Sakura stood up and stepped forward slowly, holding out her hand, but Ino's eyes narrowed at the sight of it.

"You don't understand," Ino hissed. "I _like _it here, I _like _being able to make whatever I want happen. Anything I want comes true – all I have to do is think it."

The area around them shifted, the flower covered hills fading away slowly until they were replaced completely by a children's playground. Ino smiled, clapping her hands as she turned around and started running.

"Catch me if you can!" Ino shouted over her shoulder.

"Ino, wait!" Sakura called, darting forward as Ino climbed to the top of a tall metal slide.

Ino giggled, sitting at the top of the slide as she looked over at Sakura. "You're so sweet – you really think you can get me to leave this place, don't you? I can hear it in your thoughts. But," Ino continued, going down the slide, "I know the truth. You don't _really _want me back, do you?"

Sakura walked around to the front of the slide where Ino was dusting her sundress off. "Of course I do," Sakura breathed. "You're my friend."

"You know, it's almost touching that you really seem to believe that," Ino responded casually, walking over to the swing set. "But then, I know better, don't I?"

Sakura followed behind her slowly, eyebrows drawn together. Just what was it that this Ino thought she saw in Sakura's mind to make her words ring false? Maybe they hadn't known each other for very long, and maybe they didn't really know much about one another – but they were still friends. Ino was the first person to reach out to Sakura; she had introduced Sakura to all of her friends, and somehow in such a short amount of time they seemed to connect so much better than any of the friends Sakura had ever had before becoming a student at Konoha Academy.

Ino gripped the chain of the swing and turned to face Sakura, interrupting her thoughts. "Push me on the swings?" Her voice was higher again, sounding once more like that of an excited child as she smiled and tilted her head slightly to the side.

Sakura bit her lip, hesitating for a moment before walking up to Ino and helping her get on the swing. Once the young girl was seated comfortably on the swing, Sakura moved behind her and gave her a small push.

"Higher!" Ino squealed, wiggling her legs. "I want to go higher! Make me swing all the way around the bar!"

Sakura obliged, running forward with her hands pushing gently on Ino's back before ducking underneath the child's legs and moving out of the way. Ino giggled, pumping her legs as the swing went higher and higher. Every now and then Sakura would give her a small push, but mostly she stuck to the side as she tried to figure out how to get Ino to _want _to wake up. _How __do__ you__ convince __someone __that__ reality__ is__ better__ than __fantasy?_

The swing stopped moving abruptly as Ino used her feet to still herself. She shook her head before standing up and turning to face Sakura.

"You just won't quit, will you? I tried to be nice and let you play with me, but you don't want me to have fun or be happy. You just want to make yourself feel better and _special_ by bringing me back to a reality that I don't want." There was an edge in Ino's voice that hadn't been there before, and that same smile that didn't reach her eyes had returned.

"I'm not doing this to feel–"

"If you're going to keep pretending I can't see through your lies, we're going to be at this for a very long time. Wouldn't you rather play with me?"

"You're not real!" Sakura shouted. "You're not the Ino I know, and I'm done playing with you. I want to see my friend."

"Oh Sakura, you hurt me. _Now _you're showing your true feelings, why didn't you just say so sooner?"

Ino backed away slowly, the smile never fading from her face as she crossed her arms behind her back. She grew steadily older with each step she took, until finally she resembled the present time Ino Yamanaka.

"Hello, Sakura."

* * *

**Author****'****s ****Note**: Well, there you have it – the latest chapter! You see now what I mean about it being so different from the others? Hopefully after reading this whole chapter, Ino's younger self seeming kind of un-five-year-old-like in some parts makes more sense. Her mind being poisoned and her actual self being stuck in this fantasy world where she can get anything she wants is affecting her personality and therefore how she behaves.

Again, I'm really sorry for how late this was. The beginning of this chapter has actually been finished for quite some time, but like I said in the first author's note, I just really haven't been able to write in a long time. …and there may or may not have been a PS2 involved that I finally got around to buying a week or two ago, which may or may not have consumed 70+ hours of my life in the form of Final Fantasy XII. (Final Fantasy = love.) SO it's possible that its two weeks later STILL, because of that… ahem.

On a side note: I really want to revise the earlier chapters of this story. They were really rough since I was trying to get a grasp of the characters, figure out where this story was headed, and shake off the rust on my muse from a severe lack of writing practice. I still haven't gotten back to my usual standard quite yet, but I'm the closest I've been in months and every time I try to reread the earlier chapters to refresh my memory, I die a little on the inside from the uber-lameness. So, er, yeah, look for more on that in the next little while as well. It won't be story-altering edits, just… something. I don't know haha.

ALSO I APOLOGIZE FOR THE SEVERE LACK OF SASUKE THIS CHAPTER. I want the fanfiction to be story driven and character driven, so sometimes the focus won't solely be on Sasuke and Sakura's progressing relationship. A lot of the time, yes, but not all the time.

**Anonymous**** Reviews:**  
_Kaelin_ - I understand your skepticism, but frankly that's just how Sasuke's character has always been, even in the series itself. As I've stated from the first chapter of this story on, I believe in a slow progressing romance. Sakura and Sasuke aren't going to become the best of friends only a few chapters into the story, because he doesn't feel she's necessary for their team, and he's got his own problems going on that Sakura (and the readers) just aren't privy to yet. You're right - he's done nothing to get to know her, because right now he just doesn't care. That does not mean, however, that he never will. He's barely even had a chance to be around Sakura, and as I've developed him from the start, he's not the most sociable guy to begin with. You'll just have to trust that I know what I'm doing. ^^ Thanks for reviewing!


	11. It's All In Your Head Part 2

**Author's Note**: I couldn't stand looking at the first two chapters of this story any longer, so I've revised them both. The first chapter was completely rewritten, following the same gist of events but hopefully in a way that flows better. There was also a small conversation between Sakura and her mother added near the beginning. The revisions for the second chapter was mostly fixing any inconsistencies that came up with the new first chapter, toning down Sakura's annoying, shallow personality a _lot, _improving description/word choice/sentence structure etc. I'm not a hundred percent satisfied with the new second chapter either, but it's an improvement and I wanted to get this chapter posted since I'd already delayed it so long. The rest of the early chapters will be revised eventually, but I promise I won't be delaying any more updates to do so. And know how much I love you guys for posting this update now, because the last Inheritance Cycle book came out and I've got three huge (well, one medium-sized and two huge) books to reread before I can even think about opening the last book. Which is torture for a bookworm such as myself.

A warning in advance: this chapter is very different (even from _last _chapter) and it's completely unedited. I want to get past this segment of the story and back into the Sasuke/Sakura interactions (or hell, even just Team 7 interactions!) so I'll admit to rushing through this chapter. That said, it's very important plot-wise, it's bringing up a lot of questions, some history, introducing a villain, and… yeah. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter – I've responded to them all. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the revisions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

**SHATTERED**

_A Girl Named Blessed_

CHAPTER ELEVEN: It's All In Your Head Part 2

**KONOHA ACADEMY**

_(The New) Student Handbook_

_Rule #6 – __Student dorms will be inspected on a bi-monthly basis to ensure dorm regulations are being followed._

* * *

The playground faded into the background as Sakura's surroundings suddenly became all-too familiar. Ino studied her handiwork before sitting on the edge of her bed and turning her sideways grin on her pink haired roommate.

"Realistic, isn't it? It's almost like we're really back in our dorm, having a nice… _chat. _That's what you wanted, isn't it, Sakura?" Ino taunted. _"No more games?"_

"That's right," Sakura agreed, walking over to her own bed and sitting down so that she was facing the other girl. "No more games." _You're running out of time. _The words floated through Sakura's mind, filling her with desperation though she didn't know where they'd come from.

Ino sighed, running her fingers through the long strands of her blonde hair. "Then hurry up and say your piece. After this, I want you to stop intruding on my memories. You don't belong here and I want you to leave. You're no fun."

Sakura stared down at her hands. She finally had Ino in a position where the girl would listen to her, but what could she say that the blonde hadn't already heard in her thoughts? This wasn't a girl unaware of what was happening. It wasn't a girl who wanted or even believed she _needed _help.

Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura saw Ino smirk. _So you're listening to me, even now. _

Though the blonde didn't respond, Sakura knew her thought had been heard, just like every thought that had come before. Once again Sakura found her mind invaded by thoughts that were not her own – _every thought, however fleeting, she will know. To save her, you must outsmart her._

"You said before that reading someone's mind makes you vulnerable because you have to lower the guard around your own thoughts, right?" Sakura asked suddenly, lifting her head.

"Trying to figure me out?" Ino laughed; the sound was hollow, devoid of real emotion despite the amusement in her eyes.

Sakura continued, ignoring the girl's laughter. "And you can hear my thoughts because our minds are already connected."

"Bravo, someone give the girl a prize! No wonder they gave you a scholarship," Ino commented, condescension seething into her voice. "If that's your best–"

_Don't think – act. _"Tell me more about your mother."

Sakura's words had the desired effect. Ino's mouth clamped shut, colour fading from her face as she struggled to maintain her composure. For the first time, Sakura could feel a thread of consciousness that was not her own. She closed her eyes and pulled at it experimentally. The moment she made contact, the ground beneath them began to shake, the walls around them crumbling to pieces.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ino hissed, rising to her feet.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "I'm just talking. This is _your _mind, remember?"

Ino's expression hardened, but for the first time since Sakura had entered the girls mind, she seemed worried. _What are you afraid of, Ino? _Pulling at the thread again, Sakura's head was suddenly flooded with images of a tall, voluptuous woman with long flowing blonde hair and the same powder blue eyes as Ino.

"Stop it," Ino begged, clamping her eyes shut. "I can't… I don't want… _I don't want to remember!" _ Ino fell to her knees and leaned her face against the ground, shoulders shaking from her silent sobs.

The images continued, flashing in front of Sakura's eyes. Ino giving the blonde haired woman a bouquet freshly picked flowers; the same woman putting the flowers in a vase and bandaging the small cuts on Ino's fingers from cutting through a prickly bush on her way home. Though no name was given, one word repeated in Sakura's head: _mom. _

Soon the memories were no longer just in Sakura's head, but forming around her. Ino began to cry out as if she were in pain, rocking back and forth and muttering to herself.

Sakura choked, covering her face with her hand. _What am I doing? _ She was supposed to be helping Ino, not causing her pain. Yet even as she tried to move, to speak, to do _anything, _the memory was already beginning to play out.

_Six year old Ino giggled, eating the cotton candy her daddy had gotten for her at the carnival. It was light blue, like her eyes, and it tasted like sugar water when it hit her tongue. _

_As they reached their house, Ino's father let go of her hand, the smile from his face slipping away as he stared at the front door. Ino stopped giggling and asked him what was wrong, but the only words he had for her were 'stay here.' Then he ran into the house, shouting her mother's name._

_The cotton candy dropped to the floor as Ino called out for her father. The house had grown eerily silent._

_Stepping inside, Ino covered her arms with her hands as cool air brushed against her skin. _

"_Daddy?" She walked toward the back of the house. The door was wide open, creaking as the wind blew against it. The backyard was empty except for the toys Ino had forgotten to put away before going to the carnival with her father. "Are we playing hide and seek?" _

_Even as the words left her mouth, she knew they were silly. Her father's expression had not been playful or happy. His face had mirrored the look her mother wore every day. Still, it was easier to pretend they were playing a game, one she intended to win. _

_And so, ignoring the feeling that had settled in her tummy, and ignoring what her father had told her, Ino turned around and walked back into the house. There was a thud upstairs, and then silence. Swallowing, Ino tiptoed to the staircase and began making her way to the second floor. _

_The first thing she saw was her father lying on the ground sleeping. _Not sleeping, _the present time Ino interjected, _but not dead either. _A man with pale skin stood over him, staring down in annoyance as he prodded him with the end of his shoe._

_Ino tried to back away quietly, but the floor squeaked, drawing the man's attention to her. She gasped, clapping her hands over her mouth as his lip curled. _

"_How interesting," he whispered, stepping over her father's body and advancing toward her. "A child?"_

_Ino scrambled for the stairs, but the man's legs were far longer and the advantage was his. He turned her around and kneeled down in front of her, snakelike eyes drinking her in. _

_He had something red around his lip, Ino noticed suddenly, like what spilled out of her when she scraped her knee. The man's grin grew wider, as though he saw the direction of her gaze._

"_Perhaps _you _will be of use to me where your dear mother was not."_

_At the mention of her mother, Ino's eyes widened._

"_Orochimaru." A young violet haired woman walked out of the room that belonged to Ino's mother, putting a single hand on her hip. "You've done enough damage here, _sensei. _Leave the girl out of this."_

_Orochimaru stood and turned around. "Ah, Anko. You were my greatest success and my worst failure," he whispered. "Such potential wasted – just like that woman. Selfishly taking her own life, throwing away her abilities as if they were nothing." _

_Ino choked back a sob, eyes darting to her mother's room. What did he mean? Was her mother okay? Whatever he had meant, he had to be lying. He was a bad man, and bad men always lied to get what they wanted._

"_The stain on your mouth tells me you got something out of it in the end," Anko spat, her arm dropping to her side. "They're coming, you know. If you want to run, I won't stop you – but I will not let another child become your test subject." _

"_You disappoint me," Orochimaru declared, sighing. "You once believed in my ideals, fought for the success of my experiments. Now you've become their pawn."_

"_Not a pawn," Anko disagreed. "I fight for my own ideals."_

"_To protect the children of the future?" Orochimaru sneered. "And what will you tell this one?" He turned around and grabbed Ino's arm, pulling her in front of him. Before Anko could make a move, Orochimaru dug his nails into Ino's skin, drawing blood. _

_Ino cried out, struggling in Orochimaru's grip. She was shaking and she felt so cold, so frightened. When would her father wake up? Why wasn't her mother, who never left the house, coming out to help her? _

"Stop it, Sakura," Ino's voice cried out, breaking through the memory. "I don't want you to see this – I don't want to relive it. Make it stop!"

_There was a flash of light and Orochimaru swore, releasing his hold on Ino. Smoke billowed off his hand where the flesh had been burned. Ino stared at it in horror before scrambling to where Anko was standing._

_Orochimaru laughed then, a maniacal sound that echoed through the hall. He looked down at Ino, who darted behind Anko and peeked out from behind her legs._

"_Such a pity," he whispered, long tongue sliding out of his mouth. Then he was running toward them, bent slightly at the waist. Ino screamed and Anko swore, but before either of them could do anything else, Orochimaru brushed past them and jumped out the hall window, glass shattering to the floor._

"_Damn it!" Anko shouted, running to the window. _

_Ino moved to follow, but stopped at the entrance to her mother's room. She turned slowly, promising herself that she'd only peek; just to make sure that her mommy was okay, that she was only sleeping like her daddy._

_First she saw the blood, soaking through the white shag carpet. Then her eyes trailed up to the source – her mother's neck. A single cut stretched across the flesh where the blood flowed freely and rapidly. Ino could hear her heart pounding in her ears and suddenly all she could think about was the blood that had been on that man's mouth and how he'd been in this very room before she came upstairs and – _

Sakura fell backward then, hitting the ground hard. Her eyes were wide and shaking as she tried to shut the memory off. Somewhere behind her, Ino had curled up against her knees, cheeks stained with fresh tears over an old wound she'd tried to repress.

For a while, Sakura thought they were trapped in the memory, with Ino's six year old face frozen in horror as she stared upon her mother's limp body.

"I don't want to see this," Sakura whispered. "Please, just… go away." What had she done? She'd entered Ino's mind to help her, to find a way to cleanse the poison that had seeped into her thoughts. Now her friend appeared more broken than ever, singing a children's lullaby quietly to herself as she looked anywhere but at her mother. She would never want to leave now, Sakura realized. Here, she could create any illusion she wanted. She could even make her mother alive again. Even if it wasn't real, she could pretend to forget.

The memory began to fade away, first the room that they were sitting in, then the body of Ino's mother. The last image to vanish was the six year old Ino's tear streaked face, until finally all they could see apart from each other was the vast empty darkness.

Sakura knelt down next to Ino's crumpled form and wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulders. "I'm sorry," She said quietly. "I… I didn't know how to stop it."

Ino's shoulders stopped shaking as she lifted her head. "No one was ever supposed to know. I tried… so hard… to forget."

"I'm sorry."

They sat in silence for a long time after that. Sakura didn't know what else she could say to make things right. In the short time that she had known Ino Yamanaka, she'd never suspected that such a horrible thing could have happened. _No one was ever supposed to know. _

"They did a repression spell," Ino said suddenly, "to make me forget. I… could never forget what happened to her, but I could forget being there. Seeing it with my own eyes."

"And I… made you remember."

Ino pulled away from Sakura. "It doesn't matter. You got what you wanted – I… I can't stay here anymore. Not now."

Sakura looked away, ashamed. Maybe what Ino had said before was right – maybe she really was only trying to look good by trying to 'save' the blonde. What had made her think she could do a better job than the Headmistress? "Do you remember what happened… the night that you came, uh, here?" Sakura asked, still not meeting Ino's gaze.

Ino sighed, wrapping her arms around her knees. "I thought he was Sasuke," she began. "He… he did a transformation spell, and so he looked just like him, down to the last detail. Until he started talking about my mother. That was when… I realized it wasn't him. The moment I became defensive, he returned to his original form. It was that older student that was teamed up with Sasuke and Naruto."

_The one who attacked Sasuke-kun – and the one Headmistress Tsunade suspected from the start._ "Why did he corner you like that?" Sakura asked, drawing her brows together.

Ino's gaze shifted away. "He had a proposition for me."

"A proposition?"

"He'd bring my mother back… if I lead you to him."

"Me?" Sakura said incredulously. "What would he want with me?"

"I never gave him a chance to say. People that die… they should never be brought back to life."

Sakura opened her mouth to ask another question, but promptly shut it. Her ears rang, quiet at first, then growing loud enough to drown out a city. She turned to Ino, but the other girl had already collapsed into a fragile pile. _Ino! _Sakura struggled to shut out the noise and crawl toward her friend, but soon her eyes were rolling back in her head and the dark consumed her completely.

* * *

The first thing Sakura saw when she opened her eyes was the ceiling of the infirmary. She pushed herself up with her hand, expecting the cold hard tile of the floor, but instead her skin made contact with a much softer material. Glancing down, she saw that she was lying in a hospital bed. Beside her, Ino was still lying in her own bed, though much of the colour had returned to her face.

"You ignored me," a voice said suddenly. Sakura jerked her head in the direction it had come from and saw Tsunade sitting in a chair, leaning against her propped up elbow. "What you did was not only dangerous, but foolish. The two of you could have been trapped in there forever."

"You know what I did?" Sakura said slowly.

Tsunade waved her hand dismissively. "Of course! I realized it the moment I saw you lying on the ground next to her bed. I tried to help you, but you were blocking me out most of the time."

_The voice I heard, _Sakura realized. "Does that mean you have mind magic too, like… Ino's family?"

"No," Tsunade smiled. "No more than you. With the proper training, any person with magical abilities can master a certain spell or technique, but families with a unique power will innately be able to use it with little or no training."

Sakura nodded, sitting up and turning so that her legs were hanging over the edge of the hospital bed. After a few moments, she asked, "Will Ino… be alright now?"

Tsunade rose to her feet and walked over to the other bed, pressing her palm against Ino's forehead. A green glow flowed out of her hand before fading. "She's taken some damage to her psyche, but her will is strong. She'll be fine, with a little time and rest."

Sakura's shoulders slumped. "I didn't know what I was doing. She'd talked so much about her mother, I thought maybe it was a weak spot, something I could use to make her want to come back. I didn't know her mother had… passed on. By the time I did, I… I couldn't stop the memory from coming. It was playing out in front of us, like we were watching a movie, and Ino looked… she was so…" Sakura stopped, unable to continue.

Tsunade sighed. "This is why you shouldn't try magic on your own without the proper training, especially not the magic you performed tonight. The mind is meant to be sacred; it is the very core of our existence and our souls, where all our secrets and innermost thoughts are kept away from those who would misuse them. To merely reach out with your consciousness and catch a thought or two is one thing – to fully immerse yourself within is another. Even I'm not sure I could have succeeded."

"What was I thinking?" Sakura murmured, lowering her head until her bangs fell into her face. She looked up as the Headmistress knelt down in front of her.

"You know what you were thinking," Tsunade said firmly. "And now you know why thoughts like that are to be ignored until you know what you're doing."

"I'm sorry."

"What's done is done. Learn from it, and move past it. That's all anyone can ask. Your vitals are stable," Tsunade added, straightening her back, "so you can return to your dorm."

"Yes," Sakura replied quietly, getting to her feet and walking to the door.

"Sakura, wait." Sakura's hand hovered over the door knob. "Did Ino explain the circumstances of her accident?"

"Not in detail," Sakura said, looking over her shoulder. "She said he promised to bring someone back from the dead if she did something for him."

"What was it he wanted?"

Sakura opened the door. "Me." She exited the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

Tsunade's fists clenched at her sides as she stared down at the ground. A man stepped out from behind a set of hospital curtains, his face grave.

"You interfered," he accused, "but she saved you by not listening."

"Save the threats, Danzo," Tsunade said tiredly. "Tell me, did you get what you were looking for?"

"Orochimaru wants her. For now, that is all we need to know."

* * *

**Author's Note**: I'm a little unsure about how this chapter will be received. I wanted to make it clear that the mind is a very fragile thing, not to be tampered with. Even just having Sakura in her mind could have driven Ino to the brink of insanity, if she had been any other person. (aka, someone without strong mind magic) The memory was also hard to do because I didn't want to make it too graphic – this story isn't meant to be graphic, but you throw Orochimaru into the mix and somehow it doesn't make sense for it _not _to be – but at the same time, it had to be graphic enough to explain why Ino would be so traumatized over it. In the end I think it came out a terrible mess, especially because I tried to make the memory show Ino's age by her perception of things but it was hard to do with her discovering her mother's body. But, I can always edit it down the road and for now it achieved what I wanted to and set up a bit of Orochimaru's role in this story. He's still the epitome of creep, conducting illegal (and immoral) experiments.

If you hated this chapter, don't worry – while it's important to the plot, the focus is off it next chapter (except for speculations and such) and you'll be seeing a return of the main characters. Which, frankly, I'll enjoy too, because even though I like this little segment of the story, I kind of get bored and stuck easily if Sasuke or Naruto aren't around. Which is why I didn't even read over this chapter, ahehehehe… *cough*

Anyway, that's enough from me. Don't forget to review!


	12. Repercussions

**Author's Note**: I was a little wary about how the last chapter would be received, but it seems like everyone enjoyed it. To clear up a little confusion, _**Ino's father did not die during the incident with Orochimaru. **_He was merely knocked unconscious. Only Ino's mother died.

As a (very late) gift to everyone who has read, reviewed, or favourite this story (or myself), this chapter is currently the longest to date. There's a lot more "Team 7" interaction, some very subtle SasuSaku (…they did just get put on the same team only recently, give it time!) and also a significant character introduction. And, honestly, loads of information and stuff going on. Hopefully not too much, though this is going to be in severe need of editing that I'm not going to even attempt until later. xD

All I've got left to say is this: thank you so, so much for being patient and understanding. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

* * *

**SHATTERED**

_A Girl Named Blessed_

CHAPTER TWELVE – Repercussions

"So, what do you think of Sakura?"

Sasuke looked up briefly before his eyes returned to the book he was reading. He'd only just gotten past the first sentence when the book was snatched out of his hands by a grinning Naruto, who quickly moved out of reach.

"I said–"

"I _heard _you," Sasuke snapped, rising to his feet and grabbing his book back. "I just have nothing to say."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "How can you have _nothing _to say? She's part of our team, now that Kabuto's gone off his – uh, I mean…" The blonde trailed off as his roommate glared at him.

"Just shut up," Sasuke said tiredly, returning to the arm chair he'd been sitting on. After spending the entire day on a so-called mission with the two _loudest people _he had ever had the misfortune to know, all he wanted was a few minutes of quiet solitude.

Naruto for once seemed to listen, choosing to close his mouth and head into the bathroom. A few minutes later Sasuke heard the sound of the shower running. He put his book down on the end table beside him and stood, walking over to the large picture window that overlooked the forest behind the school grounds.

_Did Kabuto really know something about Itachi, or was he just trying to play mind games? _It was a thought that hadn't left his mind since his encounter with the older student. The more dominant, logical side of his mind assured him that Kabuto's words were spoken only to convince him to run to Orochimaru, like he'd actually work for a creep rumoured to take morbid pleasure in experimenting on little kids. Yet the tiny part of his mind that made him still feel like a little kid himself couldn't help but wonder if maybe, just _maybe, _he'd stumbled across the first clue to his brother's whereabouts in over seven years.

_It doesn't matter, _Sasuke decided. _I'll find my brother my own way. _

When Naruto finally came out of the bathroom, Sasuke had already returned to his book. The blonde haired teen sighed, noisily falling back on his bed.

"Y'know," Naruto spoke suddenly, sitting up, "it's kind of hard accepting that Kabuto would turn on us the way he did. I mean, the three of us were like… a bunch of screwed up kids nobody wanted. When the three of us started going on missions together, even though it was sometimes dangerous, it felt like we were a family."

"I already had a family," Sasuke retorted, eyes narrowing. _So did Kabuto, _Sasuke thought angrily. _And he chose to work for the man who tore them apart. _

"I didn't," Naruto said quietly, eyes downcast. "I don't remember anything… before Iruka-sensei found me."

Sasuke grimaced, dropping his book in his lap and looking over at his friend.

Naruto stared off in the distance, seemingly lost in thought. Finally, the blonde boy grinned, crossing his arms behind his head. "Ah, anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is, even though Kabuto turned on us and left the academy to work for some creep, it's okay to still… miss him, I guess. And it's not like Sakura's trying to replace him, I mean, they're as different as two people can get. For one thing, she's a hell of a lot nicer to look at, and – why are you looking at me like that?"

"I don't _miss _Kabuto," Sasuke spat, forgetting his earlier feelings of guilt. "That bastard was playing us from the very start."

"Yeah," Naruto said sombrely, "I know that, but…" Naruto shook his head. "Ah, I don't know what I'm trying to say. Just forget it."

_That won't be hard, _Sasuke thought darkly, getting up and putting his book away. He knew what it was Naruto was trying to say, even if he didn't want to. But Naruto hadn't been there the night Kabuto revealed his true intentions – he hadn't been the one Kabuto slashed with a knife when his back was turned, or the one Kabuto believed would one day follow the same dark path.

Sighing, Sasuke turned off the light and lied down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Naruto's back was to him now, though he knew his roommate was still awake.

After a few minutes had passed, Naruto turned over to face the raven haired teen. "Hey, Sasuke?"

"…what?"

"No matter what, Sakura's a part of our team now. She doesn't know what it's really like – what it means to have magic. That's why… we've got to protect her, okay? She's one of us now, and we can't let anything happen to her."

Sasuke frowned, closing his eyes tightly. They hadn't even gone on a real mission yet and he could already tell that their new 'teammate' was going to be nothing but trouble. He understood Kakashi's logic, somewhat – having a healer on their team would be beneficial – but did it have to be _her? _If he was going to have a girl on his team, he'd probably prefer someone like Tenten or Hinata. Both of them were confident in their powers and neither of them could care less if he ever acknowledged them at all – which was exactly how he preferred it. He didn't need someone who was constantly throwing glances his way and blushing whenever he happened to notice. He didn't need someone to try and _understand _him, to be his friend and assure him that he wasn't weak, like she actually knew the first thing about him… and how the hell did she already find out he didn't like sweets, anyway? Even girls he'd been going to the academy with for years still hadn't clued in.

"Sasuke?"

"Nothing's going to happen to her. Now shut up and go to sleep," Sasuke muttered irritably, rolling on to his side. How one person could talk so much he'd _never _understand…

Naruto smiled as he closed his own eyes and tried to fall asleep. Sasuke's words were as close to a promise as he'd ever get.

* * *

The days that followed passed uneventfully and soon the weekend had ended and classes were running once more. Sakura brushed off Naruto's attempts at conversation, staying out of sight between classes. She knew her sudden change of behaviour hurt him, but she couldn't stand wondering if he knew what had happened – what she, a girl who'd only had powers for a few days, had done.

Ino remained in the infirmary, where Tsunade continued treating the blonde and running tests to be sure Kabuto hadn't done something else to harm her. Sakura had stopped at the infirmary only once since entering Ino's mind, and during that time she'd only looked at her sleeping roommate through the glass window before hurrying away.

It was Thursday when Kakashi asked Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke to stay behind after class. As the rest of the students made their way out of the room, Sakura walked up to Kakashi's desk, resigned. _This is it, _she thought. _He's going to realize he made a mistake putting me on his team – I'm just not ready for this. _

Sasuke came to a stop beside her, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Naruto shot her a worried look as he stood on her other side. Sakura ignored it, choosing to look at the ground instead.

Kakashi grabbed a large bag off the floor next to his desk and slipped the strap over his shoulder. "The Headmistress has given us permission to do a little… _hands-on_ training excursion today. I want the three of you to drop your books off in your dorm and change into some practical clothes before meeting me at the front entrance. This takes priority over the remainder of your classes. Understood?"

Sakura expected Naruto to cheer at the prospect of having the afternoon off, but was surprised to see him merely nod and walk out of the classroom without a word.

Sasuke walked over to Kakashi, who was slipping his book into one of the side pockets of his bag. "Is this wise?"

"It's just a simple mission," Kakashi responded lightly, eyes crinkling as he smiled through his mask. "Why? Are you worried about your new teammate?"

Sakura's cheeks warmed slightly at Kakashi's words, but she was too anxious to feel overly embarrassed. An actual mission? She could feel nausea building in her stomach, threatening to spill over at the mere thought. _Has he gone completely insane? Why would Headmistress Tsunade agree to this, after… after what happened?_

"Her powers haven't matured enough and we don't know what she'll be capable of when they have. She'll only get in our way. If it's a simple mission, just send me and Naruto." Sasuke retorted.

His words hung in the air like pollution, leaving a bad taste in Sakura's mouth. He was talking about her as if she wasn't even in the room! He didn't care that she could hear every word, even as he stood there and all but called her useless. She knew he didn't want her on his team – he'd never bothered trying to hide his feelings about that – but after the day they'd all spent together she thought he didn't mind so much anymore. _He's never even said my name, _she realized suddenly.

Kakashi still hadn't spoken – Sakura could feel his eyes on her, amused as ever. Anger bubbled in the pit of Sakura's stomach. Was that what everyone thought of her? Naruto, and Kakashi… maybe even Tsunade.

Sakura clenched her fists, tearing her gaze from the floor until she was looking directly at the dark haired teen through narrowed eyes. "You're right, Sasuke – my powers haven't matured, not even close. I have no idea what I'm doing and I know that I'm in over my head right now. But I'm a part of this team whether you want it or not, and you are not going to leave me behind. If you're concerned that it'll be a problem, don't."

Sasuke stiffened, turning his eyes on the pink haired girl standing beside him. Sakura felt a smug sort of satisfaction after speaking up for herself, and her anger melted into pure determination to prove everyone wrong – even herself.

Behind his mask, Kakashi smiled.

* * *

When Sakura reached the front gate of the academy, both Naruto and Sasuke were leaning against the stone wall. She faltered for a moment – she hadn't spoken to Naruto in almost a week, and the last words she'd spoken to Sasuke probably hadn't made him like her very much. There was probably nothing she could say to Sasuke to make things less awkward, but she could at least make things right with one of her teammates.

She forced her feet to move, one step after another, until she was standing in front of Naruto. He looked up at her, already opening his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. "I'm sorry about how I've been acting. It wasn't fair to you."

Naruto blinked, confused. "You… mean you weren't mad?"

Sakura smiled wryly, pulling her backpack onto her shoulder. Inside, the book Tsunade had given her shifted. "If I was mad at anyone, it was myself. I… did something stupid."

"That's okay, Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning widely. "I do stupid stuff all the time!"

Resisting the urge to smile, Sakura said, "I think this was a little different, Naruto."

"Well, what'd you do?"

Sakura bit her lip, moving to lean against the wall between the two boys. If she wanted them to take her seriously, they had to be able to trust each other. And if she wanted their trust, she needed to be honest with them.

"I thought if I could heal the wounds on Sasuke-kun, maybe… I could heal Ino, too. So after our mission on Saturday, I went to see her in the infirmary. Headmistress Tsunade found me there and we talked for a while before she warned me that what happened with Sasuke-kun was a fluke, and I shouldn't count on it happening again."

"But you didn't listen." It was Sasuke who spoke, catching Sakura off guard as she realized he'd actually been listening. He was still staring straight ahead, acting as though he hadn't said anything.

"No," Sakura said quietly, "I didn't."

Thunder echoed faintly in the distance as the clouds continued to slowly roll in, covering the last inch of pale blue that had been remaining. Sakura rubbed her arms absent-mindedly, grateful that she had chosen a shirt with long sleeves. She hoped that wherever Kakashi was taking them, there'd be cover from the rain that was sure to come.

Naruto pushed off the wall, crossing his arms behind his head as he looked up at the darkening sky. "But I heard Shikamaru talking to Hinata-chan this morning. He said that Ino was awake now and she'd be released from the infirmary really soon. So, you must have helped her, right?"

Sakura sank down to the ground, pulling her knees in close to her chest and letting her bag fall from her shoulder. "You don't understand. Ino was trapped in her own subconscious, and without her permission I entered her mind. I violated her privacy and her trust without knowing what I was even supposed to do. I don't even know how I managed to get in, let alone out. And in the end, I saw a part of her life she'd repressed that I had no right to expose. Sure, she's awake now, but can anyone really say that what I did helped her?"

"When a person is locked away in their subconscious, they lose their grip on reality. If you hadn't acted when you did, she probably would have lost her sanity on her own – and she would have been beyond anyone's help."

Sakura's head shot up until she was able to see Kakashi standing casually in front of her, hands in his pockets as he looked down the empty street. She hadn't heard him approach, but then again, that shouldn't have surprised her. "Are you trying to say that makes what I did okay?"

"I'm trying to say that the choices we have aren't always so black and white. Sometimes, we're faced with an impossible decision, and we ignore what our heart tells us when we should actually be listening."

"I don't understand," Sasuke interrupted, turning to their teacher. "Isn't that what we're supposed to do? If we're on a mission and let our emotions get the best of us, we fail." He spoke so matter-of-factly that Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. Was he really so cold? Would the success of a mission take priority over the lives of his teammates – his friends?

"So if you were kidnapped, you'd want Naruto and Sakura to forget about you and continue the mission."

"Yes."

"And if it were Naruto or Sakura who had been kidnapped? Would you leave them behind?"

Sakura felt Sasuke's eyes on her and looked up to meet his gaze. She wondered for a moment what the emotion she saw there could be – it certainly wasn't love or admiration, and he held her eyes in place for only a moment before turning to Naruto. But when he spoke, she understood.

"I'd find a way to save them."

Sakura rose to her feet, heart hammering against her chest. For just a moment, she wondered if his harsh words in the classroom had just been his way of trying to protect her, like he would protect Naruto and Kakashi – or at one point in time, even Kabuto.

And for the first time, Sakura felt like she was a part of their team.

* * *

They'd only been walking for a short distance when the rain finally began to fall from the sky. It started slow and gentle, but each step they took brought more and more until finally they escaped into the cover of trees behind the school grounds where their surroundings grew instantly darker. Except for the odd drop of rain that slipped between the leaves and branches of the tall twisted trees, they were safe from the storm raging above.

Sakura grabbed the long strands of her hair, wringing the water out as best she could. In front of her, Kakashi hummed cheerfully, his spirits not at all dampened by the torrential downpour they'd just come out of. If anything, he seemed to be taking great pleasure in watching his students suffer. _At least we're mostly out of the rain now, _Sakura thought, looking at the traces of sky visible between the treetops. She wiped her cheek where a small droplet of water had landed.

"So, where exactly are we going?" Naruto asked, falling into step beside Sakura.

Kakashi came to a stop, bringing his hand up to the eye he always kept covered. Sakura felt a twinge of unease as she noted the serious expression that had come over their sensei's face. Several minutes passed in silence until Kakashi lowered his hand and said, quietly, "To visit an old friend."

Naruto opened his mouth to ask more, but Sakura quickly covered it with her hand and shook her head. _Don't pry, _she mouthed, pointing at their sensei. Kakashi was looking up at the bits of dark grey filtering through the trees.

"We need to find shelter. This is no ordinary storm," Kakashi mused, gripping the bag on his shoulder.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, frowning. _**A minute ago he was practically laughing at us getting caught in the rain! **_

If Kakashi heard her, he gave no response. He began walking, his strides longer and quicker than before. When Sakura turned to Naruto, she saw that he was already following their sensei, a somber expression on his face.

"There are traces of a dark aura in the air, something unnatural. Someone has to be performing a powerful spell to draw up this much energy." Sasuke, who had been trailing behind since they'd entered the woods, was now standing beside Sakura.

Sakura stiffened, caught off guard by the dark haired teen's sudden closeness. Quickly regaining her composure, she cleared her throat and said, "Shouldn't we try to stop them?" She turned her eyes to the sky, looking for any signs of what Sasuke had described. It didn't look any different to her than the bad storms she'd experienced back at home.

"Not until Kakashi gives the order." Sasuke started walking, and after hesitating for a moment, Sakura caught up and walked beside him. She thought the words she couldn't find the courage to say – _I don't understand you, Sasuke. _The silence between them stretched on, making her feel awkward. She snuck a glance at him from the corner of her eye and saw that he was looking around, scanning their surroundings. When his eyes landed on her she looked away quickly, cheeks flaming. She swallowed, tugging her bag higher up on her shoulder as she felt his eyes still on her.

Sasuke looked away a moment later, seeming not at all bothered. They followed as Kakashi lead them deeper into the woods, climbing up steep hills and over fallen moss-covered trees. No matter how far they walked, Kakashi always kept them close to the woods edge, a quick exit never out of sight.

Thunder boomed loudly, echoing around them. Kakashi came to a stop, turning around to face his students. "Can you use your sharingan, Sasuke?"

A few moments passed before Sasuke's fists clenched at his sides. "No."

"It's fine," Kakashi said kindly, flipping his eye patch up. Sakura took a step back unconsciously as she saw what Kakashi kept hidden beneath the black material – an eye glowing blood red. "I'll just use mine."

Sakura's own eyes widened, as images of a Sasuke with glowing red eyes and flames engulfing his hand filled her mind. "_You should have left while you still had the chance. You should have left." _She covered her ears, closing her eyes as she forced the image of her nightmare away. When she opened her eyes again, Kakashi's red eye – his _sharingan_ – was staring to their right.

"Kabuto's aura is thick toward the river, outside of the woods," Kakashi announced, narrowing his eyes. "And it's a fresh trail."

Sakura froze at Kabuto's name. Beside her, Sasuke ducked his head until his hair hid his face completely from her view. She wondered if he was thinking of the same thing she was – of the night Kabuto had attacked him. _I've never really thought about it before, but Sasuke-kun… he sounded so desperate that night… and so betrayed._

Naruto growled and slammed his fist into a nearby tree. "That idiot! Why the hell would he come back here? What does he think he's doing?"

"Naruto!" Sakura ran over and grabbed his hand before he could hit the tree again. "You moron, you might have broken your hand! Didn't you stop to think about how much that would hurt?" Naruto's knuckles were bloodied, and the tree in front of them had a large indentation from where his fist had struck.

Naruto pulled his hand away from her, averting his eyes. "It doesn't matter, it'll just heal automatically anyway. It always does."

Sakura frowned. "What do you mea–"

"You can discuss this later," Kakashi interrupted, pulling his eye patch down over his eye. "Right now, the two of you need to get out of our way. Sasuke, I'm going to need your help. There's no time to track Kabuto – we're going to have to draw the energy he's gathering from the storm."

Kakashi moved out from the cover of the trees and jumped down the steep hill to the riverbed. Wordlessly Sasuke followed, passing his teammates without even a glance.

"Are you insane?" Naruto shouted, following them into the rain. "The last time you two did that, you were unconscious for days!"

"There's no other option. I'd hoped to find shelter first, but he's moving too quickly. If we don't stop him now, he'll complete the first phase."

"The first phase of what, exactly?" Sakura asked uneasily. She looked from Naruto to Kakashi, finally settling her gaze on Sasuke. His expression was guarded, but in his eyes the light was gone, leaving only darkness.

"Activating one of the power sources. Now stand back!"

"Damn it," Naruto growled. He turned around, running back into the woods and out of the rain. He grabbed Sakura's arm, pulling her back several feet. She struggled to pull out of his grip, wanting to know what was happening.

At the bottom of the hill, Kakashi and Sasuke stood facing one another, closing their eyes. Simultaneously they raised their right arm, palms open and reaching for the sky. Lightning flashed seconds before a loud boom shook the earth; even as Sakura tried to inch closer, feeling drawn to the two magic users, Naruto's grip on her arm never loosened and he held her firmly in place.

The dark clouds seemed to be drawn to their presence, getting sucked into the center of the swirling vortex forming above. Lightning crackled and snapped, occurring more quickly and frequently than before. It began striking the ground around Kakashi and Sasuke, leaving behind burnt patches wherever it touched.

Sakura's heart began pounding in her ears. "They're going to get hit," she breathed, tugging her arm free. "We have to stop them!" She stepped out into the rain and slid down the hill, moving toward them. Naruto caught up to her and wrapped his arms tightly around her body, pulling her back just in time to save her from getting hit by a bolt of lightning.

"There's nothing we can do now but stay out of their way!" Naruto shouted. "They'll be okay, so don't worry!"

All Sakura could do was watch as two bolts of lightning shot down from the sky into Sasuke and Kakashi's hands, the electric current traveling through their arms. They stood like that for what seemed like hours before their bodies finally grew rigid, arms falling limply to their sides and heads rolling forward. The rain slowed its descent, kissing the earth softly as it landed. The storm clouds, once swirling dangerously, dispersed and gradually turned lighter. When the last roar of thunder echoed through the sky, Sasuke and Kakashi collapsed to the ground.

This time Sakura didn't have to struggle; Naruto released her, letting her run to where Sasuke and Kakashi had fallen. She fell to her knees in the mud and checked both of their pulses. "Their heartbeat is steady, but something feels wrong," she said, brows furrowing. "I can't explain it, it's just a feeling that I get of something… dark."

Naruto knelt beside her. "The storm was full of bad energy and that's what they were drawing into their bodies. If it had been anyone else, it probably would have killed them."

"You said they'd be okay!" Sakura cried. "You told me not to worry!"

"I know!" Naruto shouted, rising to his feet. "But if I didn't, you would have got hurt, and you might have jeopardized what they were trying to do! What was I supposed to say?"

"I – I don't… I don't know, okay? But I just can't stand feeling useless, and I don't want you guys to feel like you need to treat me like a porcelain doll. I felt helpless, watching them from a distance and wondering if they'd be okay or not." _Sasuke-kun was right – if Naruto hadn't held me back, I would have gotten in their way. Risking your life… that's something they're prepared to do. But even if I've risked _my _life before, it wasn't knowingly, it was just because I was stupid and wanted recognition, to be the one to help the people I care about. _

"Maybe you can help them now," Naruto suggested, putting a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "You've helped Sasuke before, right? And Ino, too."

"Even if I could, I don't think I should. What happened with Sasuke-kun was a fluke," Sakura said, repeating Tsunade's words to her from the other day. "And Ino… no matter what Kakashi-sensei said to make me feel better, what I did with Ino was a mistake."

"You won't know that for sure until you talk to her yourself," Naruto said quietly. "And you won't know if you can help Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke until you try. We can't afford to wait for them to wake up – sometimes it takes days, even weeks after pulling in that much outside energy. All I'm asking is that you try."

"That won't be necessary."

Naruto and Sakura both yelped, jumping back at the sound of Kakashi's voice, neither having noticed their teacher open his eyes.

Kakashi sat up, wincing slightly. "Whatever Kabuto was trying to do, he's still not strong enough. We'll be fine. We're close to our destination anyway – once Sasuke wakes up, we can recover there."

"Are you sure you're okay, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"I've been through worse," Kakashi assured, pushing up off the ground with a little difficulty. Beside him, Sasuke stirred, opening his eyes.

"Did we stop Kabuto?"

Kakashi nodded. "For now, it seems, but if he's been sent by Orochimaru to activate one of the power sources, this is only the beginning."

Sasuke, now rising to his feet, looked in the direction Kakashi had said he'd seen Kabuto's aura. His fists clenched tightly at his sides before he opened his hands again, stretching the fingers. Kakashi shot him a knowing look before turning and heading back into the woods; Naruto walked over and slapped Sasuke on the shoulder lightly before following their sensei.

Sakura glanced from Kakashi and Naruto's retreating backs to Sasuke. There were things she wanted to say, things she wanted to _know, _about the night she'd seen him confronting Kabuto, about the sharingan that she might have seen in her dreams… but instead of mentioning any of that, she simply said, "Let's go."

With that, Sakura climbed up the hill and into the shade of trees where Naruto and Kakashi were waiting. Sasuke hesitated by the river for only a moment before following her.

Kakashi lead them on through the woods, his only answer on their destination that they'd be there soon. After that, nobody spoke again. Sakura trailed behind Naruto and Sasuke, lost in thought. When she stumbled over a large root sticking out of the ground, Naruto turned and offered her his hand.

"Thanks," Sakura said, grabbing his hand and pulling herself up off the ground. Just as she released him, she noticed that the marks on his knuckles from earlier were gone. Her eyes shot up to meet his, but Naruto turned and walked away before she could say anything. _He was serious earlier?_

The amount of trees grew thinner and thinner until finally Kakashi lead them out into the open on the other side of the woods.

"We're here," Kakashi informed them, coming to a stop. In front of him, there was an old stone wall, barely visible through the overgrown plants and vines. Beyond the wall was a rundown building with boarded up windows; the few that weren't were either cracked or broken.

"Is this… where your friend is?" Naruto asked, sounding doubtful.

Kakashi didn't answer. He crouched down, brushing aside a vine to reveal a strange symbol on the stone. He pressed his hand to it and spoke, too quietly for Sakura to hear what he was saying. When he stopped, he rose to his feet again.

Sakura looked at Naruto, her eyes questioning. Naruto shrugged his shoulders, looking as confused as she was. When they both turned to Sasuke, he rolled his eyes.

"Just watch."

For several moments, nothing seemed to happen. Sakura squinted, wondering what it was she was supposed to be watching when suddenly the landscape in front of her began to change. The stone wall crumbled, fragments turning to dust as the rundown building in the background shed its outer layer, revealing a brick-and-mortar exterior.

_It must have been some kind of illusion, _Sakura realized.

Kakashi lead the way, his students not far behind. The front door swung open, revealing a young woman with short seal brown hair. On the surface she appeared calm, but the tenseness of her shoulders gave away her true feelings. Her brown eyes locked on to Kakashi and didn't look away until Naruto stepped up and slapped their sensei on the back.

"_You old dog!_ I didn't know you had a girlfriend!"

The woman's eyes widened, head snapping in Naruto's direction. The expression on her face was a mixture of anger and embarrassment, her cheeks slowly reddening. "I am _not _his –"

"Rin," Kakashi cut in, pulling Naruto in front of him. "This loudmouth here is Naruto Uzumaki. He's one of my students." He tightened his grip on Naruto's shirt collar as the blonde haired boy tried to squirm free.

"Uzu…maki?" Rin whispered, drawing her brows together. She studied Naruto for a long time, slowly moving toward him until she was only a few inches away. Her hands rose from her sides, cupping his face gently. Her eyes clouded over as if she were in a trance. Naruto swallowed, and Kakashi released his hold on him.

Sakura watched the woman named Rin curiously, wondering why she was so fascinated with Naruto. A quick glance behind her showed her that, beneath Sasuke's mask of indifference, he too was curious.

Rin seemed to realize what she was doing and quickly backed away, bowing her head. "My apologies, Naruto-kun. You look very alike to someone I once knew."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, smiling gently. "It's uh, okay, really. That person… must have meant a lot to you."

"He was like a father to me," Rin confided, a small smile touching her lips. Her eyes grew distant once more, though it passed quickly. "I see Naruto isn't the only new addition to your team, Kakashi."

Kakashi motioned for Sakura to step forward, placing a hand on her shoulder. "This lovely young lady is Sakura Haruno."

Sakura blinked before bowing her head. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Rin-san."

"Likewise," Rin replied, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly. "We should go inside – it seems there's a lot I need to discuss with your sensei." She turned around and walked into the house, and one by one, they followed.

* * *

**Author's Note**: -bangs head on keyboard- OH, MY GOD, I have been working on this chapter so much for the past few days that the sight of it makes me die a little inside right now. I love and hate it all at once, for numerous reasons. I love it for Team 7-ness and Rin, but I hate the lightning scene, and what the hell is Rin's hair colour anyway? I think I wasted a day looking up different shades of brown and trying to figure out which one matched her anime hair. D; Came up with seal brown, and that just sounds weird but it's staying until I edit this chapter. xD

The writing is also probably very inconsistent, I don't think I wrote any of this in chronological order… seriously, all the sections got written separately and I just connected them quickly. Anyway, I'm truly sorry for how long it took to get this update out, but I think it was fairly eventful (and long!) so hopefully that made up for it somewhat. I actually did have a lot of fun working on this chapter, once I figured out how Rin was going to play into the story, and what happened in the past with her, Kakashi, Obito and Minato in this story. You guys won't find that out until later. ;D

Sorry the chapter's a mess, but hopefully it was entertaining enough that it didn't distract you too much. There's a lot I need to fix but I'm saying screw it, and posting it now anyway. So yes. R&R!


End file.
